Sharad Pawar MVA’s Rajya Sabha Candidate; Nomination will be Filed from Residence tomorrow

Veteran leader Sharad Pawar is set to be the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections after the alliance partners extended their support to his name.

However, Pawar is unlikely to personally visit the legislature on Thursday to file his nomination papers. Instead, officials from the legislature are expected to visit his residence, ‘Silver Oak’, to complete the formalities.

With Thursday being the last day to file nominations for the Rajya Sabha polls, there was intense speculation over who the MVA would nominate. Both the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) had initially been keen to field their own candidates.

However, despite the Nationalist Congress Party’s relatively lower numbers in the legislature, the leadership of both parties eventually backed Pawar, citing his seniority and stature.

The announcement was made by MP Supriya Sule at a press conference. She also thanked senior Congress leaders in Delhi and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for supporting Pawar’s candidature. Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal was also present at the press conference.

Sources said Pawar is unlikely to visit the legislature building due to health concerns. As a result, officials from the legislature may visit his Silver Oak residence to complete the nomination process and administer the confidentiality oath required while filing the nomination papers.

The BJP has declared four names for the four Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, there is still curiosity over who will be nominated by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction. Within the MVA, there had been a tussle among the three parties for the lone Rajya Sabha seat.

With Pawar’s name now almost finalized, it appears the veteran leader is set to return to Parliament in Delhi once again.​