The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Friday exuded confidence of a win for all its four candidates in the first preference vote in the Rajya Sabha polls.
As the Maharashtra MLAs reached Vidhan Sabha in Mumbai for the Rajya Sabha elections, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, "All four candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win. We have full support."
Speaking on the same lines, Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said that all four candidates of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win in the first preference vote itself.
Maharashtra minister Aslam Shaikh, speaking about the Rajya Sabha polls, said "Maha Vikas Aghadi has got numbers and strength. All the candidates from MVA are going to win. AIMIM and SP have always been with us. Everything has become clear today."
Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Janta Party too is confident of winning the Rajya Sabha elections.
Maharashtra legislative council LoP Pravin Darekar said, "The BJP candidates will win."
Refuting this, Congress Maharashtra president Nana Patole said that he does not understand the basis of the BJP's claims.
"...Our strength is more, so all the four MVA candidates will win. (Even) if two MLAs are not allowed to vote, the number of 41 MLAs will be sufficient to elect a Rajya Sabha MP," he said.
Patole also said that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has extended its support to the MVA.
Meanwhile, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Mumbai on Thursday rejected the pleas filed by Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik and former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh seeking a day's bail to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections.
The polling to elect the members of the Upper House of the Parliament on 16 Rajya Sabha seats spread across four states has begun amid speculations of horse-trading and fears of cross-voting.
in Maharashtra, the Congress party has fielded Imran Pratapgarhi for the polls while Praful Patel has been fielded by the Nationalist Congress Party. Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar have been given a run in the polls.
The MVA had shifted all its MLAs to a hotel in Mumbai fearing horse-trading. The alliance, however, is expressing confidence in bagging all the six seats from the state.
The BJP has fielded Dr Anil Bonde, Piyush Goyal and Dhananjay Mahadik from the state.
Interestingly, there will be seven candidates in the fray for the six seats in the state.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had convened a meeting of the MLAs in the state and exuded confidence in all the four candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi of winning the Rajya Sabha polls.
( With inputs from ANI )
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