NCP leader Praful Patel files his nomination for RS polls

Mumbai, May 27: NCP leader Praful Patel today filed his nomination from Maharashtra for the Rajya Sabha election slated for June 11. If elected, this will be Patel's fourth term in the Rajya Sabha. He was first elected to the Upper House in 2000.

In 2004, he became the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation. He was again elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2006 before winning the Lok Sabha election for the fourth time in 2009. Patel represented Bhandara-Gondiya constituency of Maharashtra in the 15th Lok Sabha. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Patel lost to Nana Patole of BJP.

The same year, NCP leader Tariq Anwar, who was elected to Lok Sabha, quit his Rajya Sabha seat and Patel was re-nominated from Anwar's seat.

In Maharashtra, six Rajya Sabha seats are up for grabs while there are 10 vacancies in the Legislative Council, the elections for which are slated on June 10.

The retiring Rajya Sabha MPs from Maharashtra are Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut (who filed his nomination on May 26), Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal (who filed his nomination on June 24), Ishwarlal Jain and Praful Patel (both NCP), Vijay Darda and Avinash Pande (both Congress).

PTI