Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Narayan Rane is back in the reckoning after two successive assembly election defeats, with the party nominating him as its sole candidate for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections to be held on June 10.
For the Rajya Sabha, the Congress will field former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, choosing him over former Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Nagpur leader Avinash Pandey who is said to have the backing of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. Sources said the party is left with only a handful of states ruled by it to ensure safe passage to the Rajya Sabha for its senior leaders, which has forced it to pick Mr. Chidambaram.
The Congress will be contesting only one of the three Legislative Council seats available to the Opposition and has agreed to support the NCP in the two remaining seats, which is being seen as a setback for the larger party. According to sources, the Congress may be given the Deputy Chairman’s post in the Legislative Council.
The NCP has decided to field retiring Council chairman Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar and Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde, the party’s state chief Sunil Tatkare said.
While the BJP is yet to announce its candidates for the Council elections, it is likely the party will give three seats to its allies and keep two. The Shiv Sena has already announced its two candidates. Each candidate will need 27 MLA votes to be elected, and all 10 candidates from various parties are likely to make it. In Mr. Rane’s case, the Congress has 42 MLAs which confirms his victory. Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Rane said, “I thank the Congress leadership for the trust they have shown in me. I will work towards strengthening my party.”
Nominations criticised
The decision to field Mr. Chidambaram was criticised by the BJP, with its chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari accusing the Congress high command of “insulting the state Congress unit” by overlooking Sushil Kumar Shinde as a nominee.
Congress sources said the high command’s choice of candidates for the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council has come as a surprise to senior leaders Prithviraj Chavan and Ashok Chavan, as the former had been firm that the party should contest two Council seats.
They added that Ashok Chavan’s recommendations for both the Rajya Sabha and the Maharashtra Legislative Council were struck down by the high command, and a ticket for a political heavyweight of Mr. Rane’s stature has created strong competition for Ashok Chavan.
A senior Congress leader, who declined to be named, said, “Now there are three leaders who have the responsibility of countering the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra.
He added, "The high command will be watching Ashok Chavan, Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Mr Rane. We hope that this competition will bring good days for us.”
Congress, despite being the larger party will contest one Council seat while NCP will vie for two
