Six Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra are to be filled as the terms of the sitting MPs is expiring. Congress, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), BJP and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) announced their candidates on Wednesday

Former Maharashtra CM, Ashok Chavan who quit Congress on Monday and joined BJP, also filed his Rajya Sabha nomination on Thursday

BJP also nominated Ajit Gopchade for Rajya Sabha. Gopchade is a doctor from Nanded district and has a long association with the RSS and BJP

Milind Deora, a former Union minister, who exited Congress recently and joined the Shiv Sena- Eknath Shinde faction, filled his Rajya Sabha nomination on Thursday

On Thursday, NCP's Ajit Pawar faction leader Prafful Patel also filed in nomination. Patel was accompanied by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and other NCP leaders

Congress' Cahandrakant Handore with Maharashtra Congress leaders Nana Patole and Balasaheb Thorat after filing his nomination

Chandrakant Handore, a Dalit leader from the Congress, also filed his nomination. He was accompanied by Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders

The upcoming Rajya Sabha election to the six seats from Maharashtra is likely to be unopposed considering the strength of the ruling allies and the opposition Congress in the assembly

Baba Siddiqui, who quit the Congress recently and joined Ajit Pawar's NCP faction, was also present at the Vishan Bhavan complex

Apart from former MLA Medha Kulkarni, BJP also nominated recently joined former CM Ashok Chavan's name for Rajya Sabha

Talking to reporters after filing the nomination, NCP's Patel said, "This (his nomination) is part of a political strategy and things will get clear in the coming days