Maharashtra polls: Key battles to watch out for
Voting is underway for 288-member Legislative Assembly in Maharashtra. The election will witness a major battle between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Over 9.7 crore voters will decide the fate of 4,136 candidates, including over 2,000 independents. Here are the key contests to look out for.
Mahayuti and MVA: The main contenders
The Mahayuti alliance includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-headed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The BJP is fielding candidates on 149 seats, Shiv Sena on 81 seats, and NCP on 59 seats. Meanwhile, the opposition MVA consists of the Congress with 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) with 95 candidates, and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) with 86 candidates.
High-profile contests in Maharashtra Assembly elections
Among the key battles to watch are Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde defending his Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat against Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Kedar Dighe. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is contesting from Nagpur South West against Congress's Praful Gudadhe-Patil. In Mumbai's Worli constituency, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Aaditya Thackeray competes against Shiv Sena's Milind Deora and MNS candidate Sandeep Deshpande.
More high-stakes battles in Maharashtra elections
In Sakoli, Congress president Nana Patole takes on BJP's Avinash Anandrao Brahmankar. Vandre (Bandra) East is contested by NCP's Zeeshan Siddique and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Varun Sardesai. NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal contests against Manikrao Shinde in Yeola. Nawab Malik represents NCP in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar against SP's Abu Asim Azmi and Shinde Sena's Shivaji 'Bullet' Patil.
BJP and Congress leaders contest key constituencies
In Vandre (Bandra) West, BJP's Ashish Shelar takes on Congress's Asif Zakaria. Amit Thackeray contests from Mahim against Sada Sarvankar and Mahesh Sawant. Amit Deshmukh contests from Latur City against BJP's Archana Patil Chakurkar. His brother Dhiraj contests from Latur Rural against Ramesh Karad. Shaina NC contests from Mumbadevi on a Shinde Sena ticket against Congress's Amin Patel. The results will be declared on November 23, shaping Maharashtra's future political landscape amid recent political turmoil and party splits.
