Mumbai: Major political parties in Maharashtra are now tasked with dealing with rebel leaders who defied their leadership after being denied tickets but independently filed nominations for the upcoming assembly elections. This poses worry for the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) as the BJP and Congress—two key parties of the two alliances—dropped the maximum number of sitting MLAs.
The final date for filing nominations for the November 20 elections to the 288-seat state assembly was October 29, with candidates’ papers set to be reviewed on October 30. November 4 is the last day to withdraw nominations, after which the number of remaining rebels will become clear.
Should these rebels hold their ground, they could present a major challenge for official candidates and disrupt the electoral calculations of the main contenders, Mahayuti and MVA, who seem to be in a tight race for power.
BJP, Congress drop maximum number of incumbents
Following the nomination deadline, it emerged that the BJP and Congress have dropped the most sitting MLAs among major political parties. The BJP has withheld tickets from eight incumbents, while Congress replaced five.
Both factions of the NCP—led by Ajit Pawar and Sharadchandra Pawar—chose not to field two incumbent MLAs each. Meanwhile, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has retained nearly all MLAs who supported Shinde during the rebellion, except for two.
Voting for 288 seats will be held on November 20. Votes will be counted on November 23.
Which party dropped, replaced which leader?
The exact count of candidates fielded by each member of the ruling Mahayuti and opposition MVA alliances remains unclear, as some parties have nominated two candidates in certain constituencies.
BJP’s surprise move
In a surprising move, the BJP replaced sitting MLA Sunil Rane from Borivali in Mumbai with Sanjay Upadhyay. Other incumbents who were denied tickets include Sandeep Dhurve from Arni and Namdev Sasane from Umarkhed, who will be succeeded by Raju Todsam and Kisan Wankhede, respectively.
The BJP also replaced Dada Kenche from Arvi with Sumit Wankhede and Vikas Kumbhare from Nagpur Central with Praveen Datke. Notably, Wankhede previously served as an assistant to BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while Datke is a sitting MLC.
In Chinchwad, Ashwini Jagtap was replaced by her brother-in-law, Shankar Jagtap, and in Kalyan East, the party selected Sulabha Gaikwad, wife of jailed MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, who was allegedly involved in an altercation with a Shiv Sena rival. Additionally, the BJP replaced four-time Washim winner Lakhan Malik with Shyam Khode.
Congress too denies tickets to sitting MLAs
Congress has replaced five incumbent MLAs. Hemant Ogale will run from Shrirampur, succeeding Lahu Kanade, while former Zilla Parishad officer Rajkumar Puram replaces Sahasram Korote in Amgaon.
Notably, Shirish Chaudhary has stepped down, with his son Dhananjay contesting from Raver. Sulabha Khodke and Hiraman Khoskar, representing Amravati and Igatpuri, respectively, were dropped due to anti-party activities and have secured nominations from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
Sunil Deshmukh will represent Congress from the Amravati constituency and Lackybhau Jadhav from Igatpuri.
NCP, Shiva Sena factions too follow suit
The NCP (Sharad Pawar) replaced Katol MLA and former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh with his son, Salil Deshmukh. In Madha, the Sharad Pawar-led party selected Abhijeet Patil over the sitting MLA, Babanrao Shinde.
Meanwhile, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP dropped MLAs Manohar Chandrikapure from Arjuni Morgaon and Balasaheb Ajabe from Ashti, replacing them with former BJP minister Rajkumar Badole and ex-MLC Suresh Dhas, respectively.
The Shiv Sena also denied tickets to MLAs Shrinivas Vanga from Palghar and Lata Sonawane from Chopda, instead nominating former Lok Sabha members Rajendra Gavit and Chandrakant Sonawane.
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