Maharashtra: Congress netas meet Devendra Fadnavis to seek ‘unopposed’ RS bypoll

MUMBAI: State revenue minister and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat and state Congress president Nana Patole on Thursday unexpectedly knocked at the doors of leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence to press their proposal for unopposed elections to the Rajya Sabha on October 4.
Thorat and Patole urged Fadnavis to withdraw the nomination of BJP candidate Sanjay Upadhyaya so that there would be no contest and Congress nominee Rajani Patil could be elected unopposed.Fadnavis was non-committal, saying the proposal would be placed before the senior leaders as well as the core committee of the BJP.
Asked by mediapersons if there was any agreement between MVA and BJP over revoking the suspension of 12 BJP legislators, Fadnavis made it clear that there was no deal. “We never indulge in such tactics. Thorat and Patole met me for unopposed election to the Rajya Sabha, and the matter will be placed before the core committee and a decision will be taken,” Fadnavis said.
The RS by-election has been necessitated by the death of Congress leader Rajiv Satav. It was expected that the Congress would nominate Satav’s wife Pragnya, but Congress president Sonia Gandhi nominated former MP Rajani Patil. Along with Pragnya, more than a dozen senior Congress leaders had been vying for the Rajya Sabha seat.
NCP spokesperson and skill development minister Nawab Malik felt that the BJP would accept the proposal and pave the way for the unanimous election of Rajani Patil to the Rajya Sabha. In the past too, on several occasions, one of the political parties had withdrawn their official nominee to facilitate unopposed election, he said. “Maharashtra has a high tradition in politics, and I am sure BJP will follow it and support the candidature of Rajani Patil,” Malik added.
Thorat too was confident that Fadnavis would accept the proposal in the larger interest of democracy.