Maharashtra Poll Campaign Ends, Stage Set For Mahayuti Vs MVA On Nov 20 – News18

Last Updated:November 18, 2024, 19:11 IST

With the political landscape more fragmented than ever before, this assembly election will be the biggest test of the splits in two major regional parties – Shiv Sena and NCP – in the last two years

The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the opposition MVA combine is hoping for a strong comeback. (Image: PTI/File)

Top leaders of the six major parties in Maharashtra ended the campaigning for the high-stakes assembly election on Monday. The highlight of the day: the Pawar versus Pawar poll rally in Baramati, which will be the most anticipated battle as the state votes on November 20.

With the political landscape more fragmented than ever before, this election will be the biggest test of the splits in two major regional parties – Shiv Sena and NCP – in the last two years.

The last day of campaigning saw Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addressing four rallies in and around Thane, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at five rallies, including the Baramati one, and Sharad Pawar in Baramati and three other rallies. The other deputy CM, Devendra Fadnavis, addressed rallies in his Nagpur Southwest constituency.

The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a strong comeback. The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes for their candidates.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES?

The ruling Mahayuti is banking on its popular schemes like ‘Majhi Ladki Bahin’ for women helping it retain power. The BJP’s use of slogans like “Batenge toh katenge” and “Ek hain toh safe hain” prompted the opposition parties to accuse the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines. The MVA slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s and PM Modi’s use of these two slogans.

But, not all the BJP allies supported these slogans. Ajit Pawar distanced himself from them following which Fadnavis attempted to clarify the meaning of the slogans, leading to confusion within the ruling alliance.

ALSO READ | Mahayuti Vs Maha Vikas Aghadi: Who Has Promised What To Maharashtra Voters? Explained

The MVA alliance countered the ruling combine’s rhetoric by focusing on issues like caste-based census, social justice, and protecting the Constitution. The opposition aimed to appeal to voters who felt neglected by the government.

Ahead of the elections, the BJP launched a new ad campaign attacking the opposition and urging people to “Say No to Congress”. The ad campaign highlighted various incidents from the past, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and incidents like the lynching of sadhus at Palghar.

WHAT IS THE PARTY-WISE SITUATION?

The major parties in the fray are the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena as part of the ruling alliance Mahayuti, and the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) as constituents of the MVA.

The BJP is contesting the elections in 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. The Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates.

Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with the former fielding 237 candidates and the latter 17.

WHAT DO THE ELECTION FIGURES LOOK LIKE?

A total of 4,136 candidates are in the fray for the assembly elections for the 288-seat Maharashtra legislative assembly. The number of candidates has increased by 28 per cent this time compared to the 2019 assembly polls.

Among these candidates, 2,086 are independents. Rebels are in the fray in over 150 constituencies, with candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA contesting against their party’s official nominees.

ALSO READ | Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: The List Of 288 MLAs From 2019, Know Your Legislator

The number of registered voters has increased to 9,63,69,410, up from 8,94,46,211 in 2019, with addition of 69,23,199 new voters. An election official said this rise is due to special enrolment drives focused on younger and first-time voters. The number of first-time voters, aged 18-19, is now 20,93,206, the official said.

The state electorate also includes 6,36,278 voters with disabilities and 1,16,355 voters from the armed forces. Of the total electorate, 12,43,192 voters are over the age of 85, with as many as 47,716 centenarians, according to the official.

There will be 1,00,186 polling booths in Maharashtra this time, compared to 96,654 booths in the 2019 assembly elections. This increase is due to the rise in the number of voters. Around six lakh state government employees will be involved in election duties.

ALSO READ | Maharashtra Election 2024 Key Candidates: Thackerays To Pawars, The 20 Big Fights

Here are some key contests to watch out for:

Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) v Praful Vinodrao Gudadhe (Congress) in Nagpur South West: Fadnavis became the youngest mayor of Nagpur in 1997, and has won continuously from this constituency in the assembly election for five terms since 1999. They now want to see him as the CM or the BJP chief. He will take on Praful Gudadhe of the Congress, who is hoping anti-incumbency will help him win.

Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) v Kedar Dighe (Sena UBT) in Kopri-Pachpakhadi: Pitted against his mentor, the late Anand Dighe’s nephew Kedar Dighe, Shinde is confident of retaining his bastion in Thane. He was first elected as an MLA from Thane in 2004 and, after the Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly seat was made, he won three consecutive terms in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

Ajit Pawar (NCP) v Yugendra Pawar (NCP Sharad Pawar) in Baramati: After the Supriya Sule versus Sunetra Pawar during the Lok Sabha election, Baramati is set to witness another Pawar family battle. Ajit Pawar, the loyal face of Baramati and deputy CM, will take on his nephew Yugendra Pawar, the son of his younger brother Shrinivas aka Bapu, who has the support of Pawar senior. While Ajit Pawar remains confident of retaining the bastion, Sule is throwing her weight behind Yugendra to ensure another win for Pawar senior.

Aaditya Thackeray (Sena UBT) v Milind Deora (Shiv Sena) in Worli: In 2019, Aaditya Thackeray became the first from his family to venture into electoral politics by contesting from the seat in Mumbai. While the win then against NCP-supported Suresh Mane was easy, this time he will face Milind Deora of the Shinde Sena. While Aaditya is confident Deora, a former Congress leader and Union minister, is being called a “sacrificial lamb” of sorts. Also in the fray is MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande.

Zeeshan Siddique (NCP) v Varun Sardesai (Sena UBT) in Bandra East: Sardesai, the nephew of Uddhav Thackeray, is taking on Zeeshan Siddique, who is riding on a sympathy wave after the murder of his father and NCP leader Baba Siddique. Throughout his campaign in the Muslim-dominated seat, he has sought justice for his father. The seat, which houses the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), is especially important for the Thackerays as it houses Matoshree. The MNS has pitched former Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Trupti Sawant, while Kunal Sarmalkar from Shinde Sena is contesting as an independent.

(With PTI inputs)