Shiv Sena picks Urmila Matondkar for Legislative Council seat

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government is supposed to recommend 12 names to the Governor for nomination to the Upper House of the state legislature.

Matondkar’s name was doing the rounds from the Congress. However, Sena leaders said she had resigned from the Congress last year and therefore the party approached her. “Matondkar had resigned from the Congress last year… As far as we know, she has a problem with some Congress leaders…,” said Raut. State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant, too, confirmed that Matondkar had resigned from the Congress last year. “…I don’t know about her selection by the Congress. I have been reading in the media that Congress was going to recommend her name,” Sawant said, adding that the Congress has no comments on Sena picking her.

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Matondkar is also likely to be made the Sena spokesperson.

Earlier, Congress national spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi had also resigned the party and joined the Sena. She has also been made party’s spokesperson.

Matondkar had contested last year’s Lok Sabha election from Mumbai North but had lost to BJP’s Gopal Shetty. She resigned five months later. “My political and social sensibilities refuse to allow vested interests in the party to use me as a mean to fight petty in-house politics instead of working on a bigger goal in Mumbai Congress,” she had said while resigning from the party.

On Thursday, the Maharashtra cabinet had approved a proposal, authorising the Chief Minister to send 12 names to the Governor for nomination to the council. Sources said that ruling allies Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have recommended four names each.

The MVA government is keeping the names of other members under wraps. The names are likely to be sent to the Governor on Monday.

Two prominent names who are likely to be in the 12-member list are Eknath Khadse, who recently switched over from BJP to NCP, and farmer leader Raju Shetti, NCP leaders said.