Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: With the deadline for filing nominations for the Maharashtra Assembly elections set for October 29, political parties are in a rush to finalize their candidates. On Saturday, major parties, including the BJP, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress, announced their second list of candidates.
The Maharashtra Assembly, comprising 288 seats, will go to polls on November 20, and the election results are expected to be declared on November 23.
BJP Releases Second List of 22 Candidates
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced 22 additional candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls. The new list retains six sitting MLAs while replacing two others. As a key partner in the ruling Mahayuti coalition, which includes the Shiv Sena and NCP, the BJP has now finalized candidates for 121 seats.
The party has opted to replace sitting MLAs in the Washim and Gadchiroli constituencies while retaining representation in Akot, Nashik Central, Pen, Khadakwasala, Pune Cantonment, and Ulhasnagar. Notably, Gopichand Padalkar will contest from Jat, and Ramesh Karad will stand from Latur Rural, where he will face Congress candidate Dhiraj Deshmukh.
NCP (Sharad Pawar Faction) Reveals 22 Candidates in Second List
Jayant Patil, Maharashtra State President of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), announced 22 more candidates for the November 20 Assembly elections at a press conference held in Mumbai. This new list follows the NCP’s initial announcement of 45 candidates on October 24.
Patil confidently stated, “We have announced the names of 67 candidates, and we expect to win all of these constituencies.” The MVA alliance — consisting of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), Congress, and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction) — has confirmed a seat-sharing arrangement with each party contesting 85 of the 255 designated constituencies, leaving the remaining 23 seats to be allocated later.
Congress Announces Second List of 23 Candidates
Congress unveiled its second list of 23 candidates for the Maharashtra elections on Saturday following a Central Election Committee meeting. Notable names in the new list include Rajesh Tukaram Manvatkar from Bhusawal-SC, Swati Sandip Wakekar from Jalgaon (Jamod), and Anuja Sunil Kedar from Savner. Girish Krushnarao Pandav will be fielded from Nagpur South, and Suresh Yadavrao Bhoyar from Kamthi, among others.
The Congress had earlier announced 48 candidates in its first list, bringing the total to 71 with this new addition. The first list included 25 sitting MLAs who will be retained as candidates.