A total of 4,140 candidates are left in the fray for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Monday. Voting will take place on November 20, while the results will be declared on November 23.
“We have received 7,078 valid nomination forms for 288 seats. Of these, 2,938 candidates have withdrawn their nominations, leaving 4,140 candidates in the fray,” a state Chief Electoral Office official said. He said that the figure of 4140 for the upcoming elections is 28 percent more than the 3,239 candidates contesting in the 2019 assembly elections. While there are only three candidates in Shahada seat of Nandurbar, there are 34 candidates in Majalgaon seat of Beed.
Officials said that 420 candidates will contest on 36 seats in Mumbai, while the figure is 303 for 21 seats in Pune district. Congress was left disappointed in Kolhapur North seat as the process of withdrawal of nominations for Maharashtra Assembly elections ended on Monday as its candidate Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati withdrew her name, while BJP allowed Gopal Shetty to contest from Mumbai’s Borivali. Was successful in persuading.
However, the headache continued for Mahayuti as Shiv Sena candidate from Mumbai’s Mahim Assembly constituency Dada Saravankar refused to withdraw his name despite pressure from the party leadership. He is pitted against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray, who has the support of ruling Mahayuti constituents BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP. In Kolhapur, Satej Patil expressed disappointment over Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati’s exit from the election, leaving the Congress with no representation in one of its strongholds in western Maharashtra.
Patil said, “If he did not have the courage, he should not have contested the elections. I would have shown my strength.” The setback came after the Congress replaced its previous candidate on the seat, former councilor Rajesh Latkar, and nominated him after the party office was vandalized by his opponents. Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati is the daughter-in-law of Kolhapur Lok Sabha MP and royal family member Shahu Chhatrapati.
Sources said Latkar may have dropped out of the election due to negative publicity after she was sidelined. He said Congress may support Latkar, who is contesting the elections as an independent.
Latkar said, “I was not consulted by the party before changing my candidature, due to which I had to contest the elections as an independent.” The BJP got a reprieve when former MP Shetty, who had won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat by a margin of over Rs 4 lakh in 2014 and 2019 before being deprived of the seat in the 2024 edition, filed nomination as an independent candidate from Borivali. Withdrawal of his nomination and announced that he will support the party’s official candidate Sanjay Upadhyay.
Shetty had claimed that this seat, one of the safest seats for the BJP, was being given to outside candidates for many years, while local party workers were being ignored. He also raised questions about the lack of communication between the leadership and the grassroots level officials. The BJP also managed to get rebel Nana Kate back from Chinchwad seat in Pune district, freeing the seat from intra-party constraints for its official candidate Shankat Jagtap, who will contest against NCP (SP)’s Rahul Kalate. Are.
There was also good news for the Congress in Pune when Mukhtar Sheikh withdrew from Kasba Peth assembly constituency and announced his support to the party’s official candidate and sitting MLA Ravindra Dhangekar. Party officials said that on Monday, seven rebel Congress candidates withdrew their names. These include Hemlata Patil from Nashik Central, Madhu Chavan from Byculla and Vishwanath Valvi from Nandurbar.
Shiv Sena candidates Rajshree Aherao from Deolali and Dhanraj Mahale from Dindori (district Nashik), who were in the news after their AB forms (required election documents from the party) were sent by special plane, also withdrew their nominations. The Shinde-led Sena had fielded both despite seats being officially allotted to ally Ajit Pawar-led NCP under the Mahayuti’s seat-sharing agreement. Officials of the Sharad Pawar-led party said only two NCP (SP) rebels are in the fray after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended. Voting for 288 seats of Maharashtra Assembly will be held in a single phase on November 20. Counting of votes will take place on November 23.