New Delhi

With the race for Rajya Sabha poll heating up, the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced names of many political heavyweights for their election to the Upper House.

BJP fielded party President JP Nadda as its candidate for the upcoming biennial elections to Rajya Sabha from Gujarat while named Congress turncoat Ashok Chavan from Maharashtra.

The nomination of former Maharashtra CM on BJP ticket has put the Congress party on a sticky wicket as the latter risks losing its only one seat from the state.

Ashok Chavan, despite his exit from Congress which he served for 38 years, retains a strong support base in the grand old party and there are strong undercurrents of some of his ‘loyalist legislators’ crossing over to the saffron camp.

Though, Maharasthra Congress has strongly refuted chances of such ‘upheaval’ but insiders claim that cross-voting for Chavan, now a BJP candidate, from the Congress camp is high likely, even if don’t switch sides.

Till now, Congress was slated to comfortably win one Rajya Sabha seat from Maharasthra but Chavan’s sudden exit has cast a shadow on party’s prospects. Political watchers don’t rule out a ‘surprise shock’ for Congress in the Upper House polls from the state.

A total of six Rajya Sabha seats are to be filled from the state. Out of these, the BJP, with highest number of 105 legislators is set to send three MPs on its own while Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are expected to send one each.