Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Filing of nominations end amid high-octane drama

Mumbai: The filing of nomination papers for the Maharashtra Assembly elections ended Tuesday evening as aspirants crossed over to allies and opponent camps to enter the fray.

This is for the first time in a quarter of a century that the two coalitions of Maharashtra involved six parties than the earlier four, making the polls highly interesting as it might witness a nail-biting finish.

By the end of the day, the Maha Yuti comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and the Opposition led Maha Vikas Aghadi including Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) were scrambling to declare their exact seat-sharing formula - as some "friendly contests" too are expected.

More than two dozen Independents from both the camps, which included legislators, are in the fray, making the process complex.

Though the leadership of both sides made efforts to avoid “friendly fights”, it is certainly happening in some places.

The figures from the Election Commission of India on the total nominations filed is awaited.

For the Maha Yuti, the BJP has announced 148 candidates and left four for allies, Shiv Sena fielded 84 candidates, while NCP fielded 52 candidates.

As regards MVA, the Congress has fielded 102 candidates, the NCP (SP) 87 and Shiv Sena (UBT) 89.

Prominent among those who filed nominations include two Vidarbha stalwarts - state Congress President Nana Patole, who is seeking re-election from Sakoli and state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who filed papers from Kamptee.

Two senior BJP leaders - Gopal Shetty, former Mumbai North MP and Atul Shah filed nomination papers from Borivali and Mumbadevi, respectively.

Shah was annoyed with Shaina NP’s defection to Shiv Sena and getting fielded from Mumbadevi. Shetty was denied Lok Sabha ticket in favour of Piyush Goyal, however, he did not find his name in the Assembly list and turned a rebel. In Mira Road, Geeta Jain filed nomination as an Independent in a contest similar to the 2019 situation.

Despite BJP’s objection, Nawab Malik filed two sets of nominations from Mankhurd-Shivajinagar as an Independent and as a NCP member.

Sacked probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s father Dilip Khedkar filed nominations from the Shevgaon seat in Ahilyanagar district.

The scrutiny of nomination papers would take place on Wednesday.

The last date of withdrawals is scheduled on November 4.

The elections for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls are scheduled on November 20, while counting would take place on November 23.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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