Raj Thackeray was with BJP in the Lok Sabha elections but this time his party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has decided to field a solo candidate. MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday said his party will contest the state assembly elections on its own without any alliance.
The Election Commission has announced the dates for Maharashtra Assembly elections. Voting is to be held on all 288 seats of the state on November 20 and the results are to be declared on November 23. The main contest in the state is between the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition alliance Mahavikas Aghadi, but there are some small parties or faces who are desperate to spoil the game of both the alliances. These include Raj Thackeray, Owaisi, Jarange and Ambedkar (ROJA). At present. Mahayuti’s constituent parties BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP are brainstorming on seat sharing and it is expected that soon the seats will be distributed among these parties.
Seat sharing has not been done yet between the constituent parties of Mahavikas Aghadi alliance (Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP). There also the talks are in the final stages and the final seal on seat sharing can be given within a week before Diwali. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar has said that consensus has been reached on 200 seats in MVA. On the other hand, there is discussion that BJP will field candidates on about 125 seats. At present the Central Election Committee of the party has discussed 100 names. These are the names which came victorious in 2019. In 2019, BJP won 105 seats and United Shiv Sena won 56 seats. The opposition NCP (then united) won 54 seats and Congress 44. Now NCP and Shiv Sena have split. There is one faction each in both the alliances, in such a situation, it will be interesting to see what will be the attitude of the voters. At present, small parties have created tension in both the alliances.
Now Raj Thackeray will walk alone
Raj Thackeray was with BJP in the Lok Sabha elections but this time his party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has decided to field a solo candidate. MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday said his party will contest the state assembly elections on its own without any alliance. Thackeray said, “We will contest the elections with full enthusiasm. After the elections his party will be in power. MNS will contest the maximum number of seats compared to all political parties. Let us tell you that MNS, formed in 2006, had won one seat each in the 2014 and 2019 elections for the 288-member state assembly. In 2019, this party got 2.25 percent votes, whereas in 2014 it got 3.15 percent votes. It is believed that Thackeray will make a dent in Shiv Sena’s votes because his political roots are linked to Uddhav’s Shiv Sena.
Owaisi will make a dent in the vote bank of INDIA alliance
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi and his party AIMIM have also been a factor in Maharashtra. Owaisi’s party has been contesting elections on Muslim dominated seats. In 2019, AIMIM had fielded candidates on 44 seats, out of which two MLAs won and the party got 1.34 percent votes. Earlier in 2014, AIMIM had won two MLAs and got 0.93 percent votes. This time AIMIM may form an alliance with Maratha movement activist Manoj Jarange, who has announced to contest the elections.
Manoj Jarange is trying to give a blow to Mahayuti
Manoj Jarange is popular among the Maratha community and especially among the young Marathas because of the Maratha movement. He has announced to contest the elections against the current government of the state. Being popular among Marathas, Manoj Jarange can spoil the electoral equation of Marathwada. Maratha population in the state is about 32 percent. Most of the Maratha community was in favor of NDA in the 2019 elections but in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, anger was seen among the Maratha community towards the NDA alliance. Because of this, BJP and its allies had to suffer losses in the state.
In 2019, NDA had won all the seats in Marathwada but this time many BJP stalwarts lost the elections in this region. It is believed that Jarange’s entry into the electoral fray could dent the NDA’s vote bank. Jarange is contesting the elections for the first time. Jarange has said that now the issue is not just about Marathas. Now we will unite Muslims, Dalits and farmers and overthrow the Mahayuti government. Meanwhile, AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel has hinted at forming an alliance with Manoj Jarang. Jalil had met Jarange on Tuesday evening in Antarwali Sarati village of Jalna district. If this alliance happens then it can harm both the big alliances (NDA and INDIA).
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Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi will also play
If Manoj Jarange alone is becoming a threat to Mahayuti, then Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi of Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Constitution maker Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, can become a hindrance in the path of Mahavikas Aghad. Ambedkar wanted to make friends with the INDA alliance in the Lok Sabha elections but due to lack of consensus on seat sharing, the friendship was derailed.
However, Prakash Ambedkar could not make much impact in the Lok Sabha elections. His party had contested elections on 38 seats. Their candidates could save the bail on only two of them. Prakash Ambedkar himself had lost badly from Akola seat. He stood third by getting 2,76,747 votes but this is an assembly election. Experts believe that Prakash Ambedkar is a factor in this and is popular among the Dalits. In 2014, this party won two seats and got 0.62 percent votes, which increased to 4.57 percent in 2019.
