Eknath Shinde-Led Shiv Sena Nominates Milind Deora as Rajya Sabha Candidate from Maharashtra

Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, nominated Milind Deora for the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, according to India Toda. Earlier today, the Mayayuti partner BJP announced three candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls. Congress also revealed the name of its sole candidate from the state. Currently, political parties in the state have announced five names for the six vacant seats.

Deora's nomination closely follows his recent move to join Shiv Sena under Shinde's leadership. Just a month ago, he tendered his resignation from the Congress party. Deora is part of a trio of Congress leaders who departed from the party within a single month, joining Ashok Chavan and Baba Siddique in recent party switches. Born to veteran Congress leader Murli Deora, Milind Deora made history by becoming one of the youngest members of the Lok Sabha, assuming office at the age of 27. He secured victory in the 2004 elections with a margin of 10,000 votes, defeating BJP's Jaywantiben Mehta.

In the subsequent 2009 Lok Sabha election, Deora emerged victorious once again from the Mumbai South Constituency, this time with a substantial margin of 1,12,682 votes. In 2011, he was appointed as the Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology in the Union Government of India. However, he faced major setbacks in 2014 and 2019, losing the two successive Lok Sabha elections to Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant. During those elections, Shiv Sena was in alliance with the BJP, and the party had not split into two factions.