Rajya Sabha polls: Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, Sanjay Pawar to file nomination today

The Shiv Sena will contest two Rajya Sabha seats and ensure victory in both, asserted Raut, whom the party has given a fourth consecutive term in the Upper House of Parliament.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said he and party colleague Sanjay Pawar will file their nomination papers on Thursday for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls. Shiv Sena's Kolhapur district president Sanjay Pawar will be the party's second candidate for the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls, Raut earlier said, in a clear snub to former MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati who was seeking support for his candidature.

The Sena, which heads the coalition government in Maharashtra, will contest two Rajya Sabha seats and ensure victory in both, asserted Raut, whom the party has given a fourth consecutive term in the Upper House of Parliament.

Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, Raut said, "The Shiv Sena leaders had a discussion with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and it has been decided that Sanjay Pawar and I will file our nominations for the Rajya Sabha polls on Thursday. There is no question of supporting Sambhajiraje anymore." He said CM Thackeray will be present when they file their nomination papers.

"The Shiv Sena has been firm on giving tickets to party candidates and we repeatedly communicated it to Sambhajiraje as well," he said. Asked about Shiv Sena fighting against Sambhaji Chhatrapati, Raut said, "We are not fighting against him. We respect him. We have enough numbers in the Assembly to win two seats, hence we have fielded Sanjay Pawar as well."

Earlier, Sambhaji Chhatrapati had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha from the President's quota.