MUMBAI: Former BJP Rajya Sabha member Sambhaji Maharaj is in a dilemma on whether to accept the Shiv Sena’s offer to be its official candidate or contest as an Independent in the Rajya Sabha election scheduled on June 10.Of the six seats up for grabs in the western state, opposition BJP will get two candidates elected without any trouble going by its strength in the Maharashtra Assembly. While the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the NCP are contesting one seat each, the Uddhav Thanckeray-led party has staked the claim on the sixth Rajya Sabha seat.
The likes of actor Urmila Matondkar and former Lok Sabha MP Chandrakant Khaire are doing the rounds as the probable Sena candidate for the sixth seat. Shiv Sena boss and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is yet to decide who gets the coveted ticket to the Upper House. Sambhaji has already thrown his hat in the ring as an Independent candidate. He has also written support letters to all parties.
Sambhaji even met Uddhav seeking the Sena’s support for his independent candidature. But, the grapevine is that the Maharashtra chief minister asked him to be Sena official candidate, or else his party would not support him.Lending credence to the speculation, Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that he and his party had a lot of respect for Sambhaji but maintained that election is an altogether different thing.
“If Sambhaji Maharaj is serious and joins Sena, then we will surely think of fielding him as our official candidate in the Rajya Sabha poll. If he is not, then he may have his own calculations. To win the Rajya Sabha seat, you need 43 votes. I hope Sambhaji must have these numbers and hence he has announced himself as Independent candidate,” Raut said.