There is a tussle going on between the parties of the opposition camp Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) regarding the Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra. According to numbers, MVA can win one Rajya Sabha seat in Maharashtra. But the picture of who will be the candidate is not clear yet. Meanwhile, Congress staked its claim on one seat on Thursday (26 February). Congress argues that it is a national party and hence it has a right to one seat. Let us tell you that a few days ago, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray had expressed ‘first right’ on the Rajya Sabha seat.

MVA parties held meeting in Mumbai

Senior leaders of the MVA, the alliance of Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Shiv Sena (UBT), held a meeting in Mumbai on Thursday to discuss the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and seat allocation. After the meeting, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar told reporters that being a national party, Congress has proposed that the Rajya Sabha seat be given to it.

Will be resolved through dialogue- Wadettiwar

Wadettiwar said that NCP (SP) will consult its party high command, while Shiv Sena (UBT) will also clarify its stand. Wadettiwar expressed confidence that the issue of seat sharing for Rajya Sabha and Maharashtra Legislative Council elections will be resolved through talks. He said that all the parties will consult with their respective leadership, only after which the final decision will be reached.

MVA will fight elections unitedly- Wadettiwar

He said, “Although both Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress have claimed this seat, but MVA will contest the elections unitedly.” The candidate will be selected only with the consent of all three parties. He said that nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections can be filed till March 5 and the final decision will be taken after discussion with the alliance partners. Wadettiwar said that if the alliance contests the elections together then MVA’s victory is certain.

When asked about the incident of allegedly offering Namaz inside the Municipal Corporation office in Malegaon town of Nashik district, Wadettiwar said that such activities should not be done on the roads. However, he also said that it is important for those fasting during Ramadan to offer namaz on time.

The Congress leader alleged that this issue is being unnecessarily politicized and attempts are being made to divide the society on religious lines.

Who are retiring from Maharashtra?

In April, the Rajya Sabha terms of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, NCP (SP)’s Fauzia Khan, Republican Party of India (RPI-Athawale), Ramdas Athawale of Republican Party of India (RPI-Athawale), Bhagwat Karad of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress’ Rajni Patil and NCP’s Dhairyasheel Patil will end.

Rajya Sabha Election 2026: The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule of elections for Rajya Sabha. This election is being conducted to fill the places of those members whose tenure is ending in April 2026. Elections will be held on 37 seats in a total of 10 states. According to the schedule released by the Election Commission, notification will be issued on 26 February 2026. The process of filing nomination, scrutiny and withdrawal of nomination will be completed as per the stipulated time limit. Voting for all these seats will be held on 16 March 2026. Voting will take place on the same day and counting of votes will also be done on March 16 only.

This election will be conducted for the seats of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. Political parties have started the process of selecting their candidates and election activity has intensified in the states.

election program

• Notification will be released on 26 February 2026.
• The last date for nomination has been fixed as March 5, 2026.
• Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on 6 March 2026.
• The last date for withdrawal of names is 9 March 2026.
• Voting will take place on March 16, 2026, from 9 am to 4 pm.
• Counting of votes will start at 5 pm on March 16, 2026.
• The election process will be completed by 20 March 2026.

Retiring members from Maharashtra

• Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad
• Dr. Fauzia Tahseen Ahmed Khan
• Priyanka Vikram Chaturvedi
• Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar
• Patience Mohan Patil
• Rajni Ashokrao Patil
• Ramdas Bandu Athawale

Retired member from Odisha

• mamta mohanta
• Mujibullah Khan
• Sujit Kumar
• Niranjan Bishi

Retired member from Tamil Nadu

• nr elango
• P Selvarasu
• M Thambidurai
• tiruchi siva
• Dr Kanimozhi N V N Somu
• G K Vasan

Retired member from West Bengal

• Saket Gokhale
• Ritabrata Banerjee
• Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya
• Weather Noor
• Subrata Bakshi

Retired member from Assam

• Rameshwar Teli
• Bhuvaneshwar Kalita
• Ajit Kumar Bhuiyan

Retired member from Bihar

• Amarendra Dhari Singh
• Prem Chand Gupta
• Ramnath Thakur
• Upendra Kushwaha
• Harivansh Narayan Singh

Retired member from Chhattisgarh

• Poet Tejpal Singh Tulsi
• Phulo Devi Netam

Retired member from Haryana

• Kiran Chaudhary
• Ram Chander Jangra

Retired member from Himachal Pradesh

• Indu Bala Goswami
• Retired member from Telangana
• Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi
• K R Suresh Reddy

Voting for all these seats will be held on 16 March 2026. Political parties have accelerated the process of deciding their candidates.