NEW DELHI: A day after the BJP released its candidate list for 66 assembly seats in Jharkhand, the party announced its first list for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, covering 99 seats.
The elections are set for November 20, with the 288-member legislative assembly.
Devendra Fadnavis, the current Deputy Chief Minister and BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate, will contest from the high-profile Nagpur seat. Most sitting MLAs have retained their positions, with only a few incumbents being dropped.
The BJP is expected to issue a second list soon, adhering to its seat-sharing agreement within the Mahayuti alliance, which includes other regional parties.
The significance of this election is heightened, as it pits the ruling Mahayuti alliance against the Opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Despite the MVA's claims of anti-incumbency sentiment, the ruling coalition, led by the BJP, is focused on retaining power.
The BJP has retained 71 sitting MLAs in the first list of 99 candidates for the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly polls and also fielded kin of some regional satraps including Congress-turned-BJP politician Ashok Chavan's daughter.
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, ministers Girish Mahajan, Sudhir Mungantiwar, and Chandrakant Patil, are among the prominent faces feature in the first list released on Sunday.
The list includes 13 women candidates.
The saffron party has retained 71 MLAs and dropped three.
Fadnavis is renominated from home turf Nagpur South West, Narwekar from Colaba in south Mumbai, and ministers Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan, and Chandrakant Patil from Ballarpur, Jamner, and Kothrud constituencies, respectively.
Mungantiwar had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Chnadrapur constituency which he lost to his nearest Congress rival.
Out of 16 MLAs of BJP in Mumbai, the party has renominated 14 in the first list.
The list also includes Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar, fielded from the Vandre West seat, and senior party leader and Lok Sabha member Narayan Rane's son Nitesh Rane, renominated from Kankavli constituency in coastal Sindhudurg.
Notably, Bawankule, a minister in the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis-led government, was denied a ticket in the 2019 elections from the Kamthi constituency he had represented for three terms. He has been renominated from Kamthi.
The BJP has replaced the sitting MLAs from Chinchwad in Pune district, Kalyan East in Thane district, and Srigonda in Ahilyanagar district.
In some constituencies, the BJP has allotted tickets to family members of satraps including Sulbha Gaikwad, wife of sitting MLA Ganpat Gaikwad who is in jail for allegedly shooting at a rival politician in a police station.
In Mumbai, the BJP has fielded its Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar from the Bandra West assembly segment for the third time, while his brother Vinod Shelar will test the electoral waters from the Malad West seat.
Vinod will challenge sitting Congress MLA and former minister Aslam Shaikh.
Sulbha Gaikwad will contest from the Kalyan east constituency; Pratibha Pachpute will replace her husband Babanrao Pachpute from Srigonda segment in Ahilyanagar district.
Chinchwad MLA Ashwini Jagtap has been replaced by her brother-in-law Shankar Jagtap.
Ashwini had won the bypoll from Chinchwad after the death of her husband and sitting MLA Laxman Jagtap.
Perhaps the most high-profile candidate is Srijaya Chavan, daughter of former Congress politician Ashok Chavan.
She will make her electoral debut from the Bhokar constituency, represented by her father, in Nanded district. Chavan senior switched to the BJP on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections. He is now a Rajya Sabha member.
The BJP has given Mahesh Baldi, an independent MLA from Uran in Navi Mumbai, a ticket for the November 20 polls.
Former Congressman and Independent MLA Prakash Awade has made way for his son Rahul Awade in Ichalkaranji.
Anuradha Chavan, chairperson of the Phulambri APMC and member of the state BJP working committee, has been nominated from the Phulambri constituency in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district place of Haribhau Bagade, who held the seat before being appointed as the Governor of Rajasthan.
MLC Ram Shinde is fielded from the Karjat Jamkhed constituency.
Shinde will take on sitting MLA Rohit Pawar of NCP (SP), the grandson of Sharad Pawar.
The BJP is looking to contest around 150 seats in the state but is involved in tough bargaining with its allies Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
Following recent victories in Haryana, the BJP is optimistic about securing a substantial number of seats by emphasizing development and Hindutva themes.
The party is ramping up its campaign efforts, with senior leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, scheduled to hold numerous rallies across the state in the coming weeks.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), regarded as the BJP's ideological mentor, is also expected to play a crucial role in mobilizing support, leveraging its strong grassroots presence in Maharashtra.
As the BJP prepares for the election, it is clear that the stakes are high, and the strategies employed will be closely monitored as the party aims to build on its recent electoral successes and navigate the complexities of the state's political landscape. The upcoming weeks will be critical as the BJP intensifies its outreach and campaign activities ahead of the polls.
(With inputs from PTI)
