The upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections scheduled to be held in a single phase on November 20 promise a histrionic combat as the state’s two major alliances come face to face in a cinematic mélange of party fragmentation, familial rivalry, and political dogfight.
The two major alliances vying to rule the government of the most economically significant state of India are the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Congress, and the Maha Yuti Alliance, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP. It is Sena versus Sena, Pawar versus Pawar, and the good old Congress versus BJP this time.
The seat sharing arrangement decision on the end of both parties has been riddled with contention and conflict. While the MVA has decided upon all three of its major parties contesting 85 seats each in the 288-member assembly of Maharashtra, it has decided to allocate 18 seats to other small allies like the Samajwadi Party, AAP, CPI, and CPI(M). The MVA has kept mum on the fate of the remaining 15 seats.
Within the Maha Yuti alliance, there has been quibbling over seat sharing, and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and alliance partner Ajit Pawar are in talks with Home Minister Amit Shah at his office in New Delhi.
While the MVA is confident of defeating the incumbent Maha Yuti, the BJP in its campaign in Mumbai used Yogi Adityanath as a motif along with the slogan Batenge Toh Katenge. BJP’s success in UP has been under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, and it is hoping to replicate its UP formula in Maharashtra by drafting its campaign in a manner that reminds people of BJP’s triumph in UP.
Key candidates and their constituencies include Ajit Pawar from Baramati, Eknath Shinde from his home constituency Kopri-Pachpakhadi in Thane, from where Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Kedar Dighe, nephew of Anand Dighe, who is considered to be Shinde’s political mentor. Devendra Fadnavis will contest from Nagpur South West, and Aaditya Thackeray will contest from Worli. Mumbai’s Mahim will witness a triangular contest between Shiv Sena UBT’s Mahesh Sawant, Shiv Sena’s Sada Sarvankar, and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) Amit Thackeray, son of MNS founder Raj Thackeray, who is cousins with UBT’s Uddhav Thackeray.
Votes will be counted on November 23.
