While the BJP leads the ruling Maha Yuti (NDA) with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, the Congress leads the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.) bloc with Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Credit: PTI Photos
Mumbai: The BJP and Congress, which leads two diametrically-opposite coalitions, are engaged in a direct fight in around one-fourth of the 288 seats during the Vidhan Sabha polls in which the political fate of several top leaders and chief ministerial aspirants would be decided.
While the BJP leads the ruling Maha Yuti (NDA) with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, the Congress leads the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.) bloc with Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
According to available data before the last date of withdrawal of candidature, the BJP and Congress are engaged in a direct eyeball-to-eyeball political conflict in 70 to 75 seats of the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Of these, more than 30 seats are in the central Indian region of Vidarbha.
Among those in direct fight include Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP President Chandrashekar Bawankule, BJP stalwart and minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Leader of the Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, state Congress President Nana Patole, former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan among others.
Fadnavis, a former Chief Minister and ex-Leader of Opposition, is the BJP candidate from Nagpur South West, where the Congress has fielded Prafulla Gudadhe-Patil, a veteran of Vidarbha politics.
In Kamptee in Nagpur district, Bawankule, an OBC face of BJP, would take on Suresh Bhoyar, a former President of the Nagpur Zila Panchayat.
In Sakoli in Bhandara district, Patole would take on Avinash Brahmankar of BJP. Patole, a former Speaker, was the first to revolt against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on farmers’ issue, and resigned as BJP MP.
Wadettiwar, who is seeking re-election from Brahmapuri in Chandrapur district is pitted against Krishnalal Sahare of the BJP.
BJP minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who lost the Lok Sabha polls, will fight to retain his Ballarpur seat against Congress candidate Santosh Rawat.
In Karad South, Chavan, an ex-CM and former Minister of State in PMO under the Dr Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, would take on Atul Bhosale of the BJP.
In Colaba in Mumbai, Speaker Rahul Narwekar would take on Heera Devasi of the Congress.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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