Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, a descendant of King Shivaji, on Friday announced to withdraw from the contest for the Rajya Sabha elections and accused chief minister Uddhav Thackeray of not keeping his promise to back him.
Shiv Sena, however, dismissed Sambhajiraje’s allegation, with party MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut saying the issue of the sixth seat had ended for them and they would not comment further on it.
Sambhajiraje, who was a member of the Upper House of parliament between June 11, 2016 and May 5, 2022 from President’s quota, had announced his candidature as an independent and had sought support from all the major parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sena offered him the candidature with the condition of joining the party. The former MP, however, rejected the offer and said he would not hold any political affiliation as he wanted to work for the people rising over party politics.
Polls to the six Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra will be held on June 10. Each candidate needs 42 votes to get elected.
Addressing a press conference, Sambhajiraje said, “After I rejected the offer to join Sena during my meeting with Thackeray at Varsha, a delegation of three Sena leaders approached me with a proposal. We met in a south Mumbai hotel and finalised the draft which stated that I would be the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi candidate with the support of Sena. The party, however, backtracked from what was decided between us. I am ready to prove this if it is challenged.”
He also announced that he would tour the state and work for the poor, farmers, and labourers without being associated with any political party.
“It had become difficult even to garner the mandatory seconding of 10 MLAs while filing the nomination paper. The voting by 42 MLAs was out of the question. Many independents said there was pressure from the ruling parties to which they were affiliated in the legislature to not support Sambhajiraje,” a Maratha leader close to the former MP said.
“The issue of the sixth Rajya Sabha seat has ended. We have respect for Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati. So, we don’t want to stretch the issue by making comments. Our best wishes are with him,” Raut said, adding if Sambhajiraje wanted to become a member of either of the Houses, he would need the support of a political party.
Sena’s Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant said the party chief did not go back on his promise. “Sena follows the teachings and ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray and fortunately, his son is the chief minister and therefore, we never back down after we have given our word. We never said he would be the Sena-endorsed candidate,” he told reporters.
The former union minister further said Sena’s support to Sambhajiraje as an independent would have not helped the party increase its tally in the House. He also questioned Sambhajiraje who would have stopped him from working for the Maratha community had he joined Sena.
“The chief minister offered him to become the Sena candidate. Had we supported him as an independent, our tally would not have gone up in the Rajya Sabha. We are surprised that Sambhajiraje had contested on an NCP ticket in the past. So, are we untouchables? If he was firm on his stance, so were we; that does not make us wrong,” he said.
In the backdrop of the recent development, BJP is expected to field a third candidate, which means the members would not be elected unopposed.
Raut said, “Even if there are elections [if BJP fields a third candidate] we have the votes to win the second seat for Sena.”