The upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections on 20th of November is going to be an important political war between the ruling ally Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Given the availability of many influential candidates the election is going to be carried out to capture the headquarters of the state power called Mantralaya.
Top candidates to watch for in Maharashtra polls
Eknath Shinde of the party is in the capacity of the current Chief Minister from the Kopri Pachpakhadi in Thane where the Shiv Sena factional contest will turn more interesting where two different factions of the Shiv Sena will be in action. Shinde’s principal challenger will be Kedar Dighe who is related to Shinde’s political godfather, the late Anand Dighe. This contest is strategic since both sides seek to.ifiture the Tamil Nadu strongman of the Shiv Sena.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is contesting for the second time from his native place Nagpur South West where he faces threat from Congress candidate Prafulla Gudadhe. While Fadnavis enjoys the berth of chairman, he has many projects started which he can showcase, his opponent’s ability to connect with the local residents along with their disappointment in development and infrastructure projects as well as services can be a problem to him.
Ajit Pawar who is another Deputy CM is in clearly in a high stakes family battle in the Baramati assembly constituency. His nephew, Yuggendra Pawar, is going to contest him, therefore, this will be the senior Pawar’s first electoral contest. Pawar has won seven consecutive times from Baramati, which makes this contest a real cal on his time tested domination.
Aaditya Thackeray is the Shiv Sena (UBT) claiming war for his Worli constituency in Mumbai battling with a three-cornered contest against his cousin Raj Thackeray’s MNS candidate Sandeep Deshpande and his own party Shiv Sena’s Milind Deora. Aaditya has armed himself with COVID-19 relief work in his favour but Deora’s experience plus his alleging that Aaditya once hampered his work might turn the tables.
For Worli, Milind Deora, now with Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, will be a tough contender. Thanks to the powerful family background—his father Murli Deora was one of the most notable leaders of the country—Milind’s experience in the district speaks for him, given his previous triumphs.
Congress state president Nana Patole is leading the party in the poll battle against BJP’s Avinash Anandrao Brahmankar. While Patole uses association with the AAP to advocate agrarian reforms and economic issues, it is crucial for the BJP to organise Vidarbha through Brahmankar.
Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the state BJP president and three term MLA, is in the fray from Kamthi, Nagpur. The Congress has recorded Suresh Bhoyar, it gives a serious fight in this politically relevant area methods assimilation.
Zeeshan Siddique, NCP leader and son of the late Baba Siddique will fight to retain the Bandra East seat which has been challenging by Varun Sardesai, nephew of Uddhav Thackeray. The constituency will also see candidacy from Trupti Sawant of MNS. The fact that Zeeshan has succeeded in his previous endeavors may well favour his campaign, while Varun has the Thackeray family and the MNS to contend with.
Newcomer to the assembly is Sreejaya Chavan, a daughter of former Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan from Nanded’s Bhokar constituency. As a candidate of BJP she has a steep hill to climb owing to farmers’ disgruntlement, outrage on the Maratha reservation matters, a past where BJP was not their first preference and certainly the ruling government is not in the best graces of the people. The Congress has chosen Tirupati Kadam who is a local leader which shows that the party is targeting seating retention through a ground up approach.
Amit Thackeray son of MNS chief Raj Thackeray is getting into the political arena from Mahim which has extreme political importance as the seat is in proximity to the original Shiv Sena Bhavan situated at Mumbadevi. The elections were exasperated into a battle for supremacy of the Shiv Sena heritage between himself and Sada Sarvankar of the Shiv Sena and Mahesh Sawant of the UBT faction.
All of these races represent the increasing interest and immense political struggle in Maharashtra. The long-incumbent politicians are struggling with new entrants or within their political party whereas fundamental support base is witnessing fierce fights between hitherto members of the same electoral alliance. The results will not only pave way for leadership in the forthcoming Maharashtra but also depict a change in the loyalties as well as politics of a region.
