The field is now completely set for Maharashtra Assembly elections. Let us tell you that after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Monday, a total of 4,140 candidates are left in the fray for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra. Voting will take place on November 20, while the results will be declared on November 23. The state Chief Electoral Office official said, “We received 7,078 valid nomination papers for 288 seats. Of these, 2,938 candidates have withdrawn their nominations, leaving 4,140 candidates in the fray.” He said the figure of 4,140 candidates for the upcoming elections is 28 percent more than the 3,239 candidates who contested the 2019 assembly elections. Let us tell you that there are only three candidates in Shahada seat of Nandurbar, whereas there are 34 candidates in Majalgaon seat of Beed. Officials said that 420 candidates will contest on 36 seats in Mumbai, while 303 candidates will contest on 21 seats in Pune district.
Let us also tell you that due to the end of the process of withdrawal of nomination for Maharashtra Assembly elections, Congress was disappointed in Kolhapur North seat, because its candidate Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati withdrew her name, while BJP withdrew its name from Borivali, Mumbai. Was successful in convincing Shetty. However, the headache continued for Mahayuti as Sada Saravankar, Shiv Sena candidate from Mumbai’s Mahim assembly constituency, refused to withdraw his name despite pressure from the party leadership. He will face Amit Thackeray, son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. Thackeray has the support of the BJP, which is a component in the ruling grand alliance along with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party.
Also, in Kolhapur, Satej Patil expressed disappointment over Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati’s exit from the race. Their withdrawal left the Congress without representation in one of its strongholds in western Maharashtra. An angry Patil said, “If he did not have courage then he should not have contested the elections. I would have shown my strength.” The blow came when Congress changed its previous candidate on this seat, former councilor Rajesh Latkar, and nominated him, after the party office was vandalized by the former councilor’s opponents. Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati is the Lok Sabha member from Kolhapur seat and daughter-in-law of royal family member Shahu Chhatrapati. Sources said that she may have backed out of the race due to the negative publicity due to Rajesh Latkar being ignored. He said Congress may support Latkar, who is contesting the elections as an independent. “I was not consulted by the party before changing my candidature, due to which I had to contest the election as an independent,” Latkar said.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party’s official candidate from Shrigonda assembly seat of Ahilyanagar, Pratibha Pachpute, wife of sitting MLA Babanrao Pachpute, withdrew her nomination and filed AB form on behalf of her son Vikram Singh Pachpute. Vikram Singh is the vice president of the state BJP Yuva Morcha. A BJP leader said, “We have given AB form to Vikram Singh Pachpute on the request of his mother. He will contest the election on the party’s election symbol.”
The BJP, on the other hand, got a reprieve when former MP Shetty withdrew his nomination as an independent candidate from Borivali and announced that he would support the party’s official candidate Sanjay Upadhyay. Shetty had won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat by a margin of over four lakh in 2014 and 2019, but was denied a ticket for the assembly in 2024. Shetty had rebelled by claiming that the seat, one of the safest for the BJP, had been giving tickets to outside candidates for the last several years, while local party workers were being ignored. He also expressed concern over the lack of communication between the leadership and the grassroots level workers. The BJP also managed to woo rebel Nana Kate from Chinchwad seat in Pune district, paving the way for the party’s official candidate Shankar Jagtap to contest the seat directly against NCP’s (Sharadchandra Pawar) Rahul Kalate.
BJP candidate from Shirdi seat in Ahilyanagar district and state Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil could not convince his party colleague Rajendra Pipada not to contest the elections. Pipada, who openly criticized Vikhe Patil, did not change his stance even after talking to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Moreover, Congress’s Mukhtar Sheikh withdrew his nomination from Pune’s Kasba Peth assembly constituency and announced his support to the party’s official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar. Party officials said that on Monday, seven rebel Congress leaders withdrew their names. These include Hemlata Patil from Nashik Central, Madhu Chavan from Byculla and Vishwanath Valvi from Nandurbar. Shiv Sena candidates Rajshree Aherao from Deolali and Dhanraj Mahale from Dindori (Nashik district), who were in the news after their AB forms (the required election document from the party) were sent by special plane, also withdrew their nominations. Shinde-led Shiv Sena had fielded both despite the seat being officially allotted to ally Ajit Pawar-led NCP under the Mahayuti’s seat-sharing agreement.
