Mumbai: Maharashtra will vote in a single phase on October 21 to elect the 288 members of Legislative assembly.
The state boasts over 8.9 crore eligible voters, of which the number of service voters stand at around 1.17 lakh.
The Vidhan Sabha election in Maharashtra is mainly a battle of two big alliances - the BJP and Shiv Sena on one hand, and the Congress-NCP on the other.
Several smaller parties have allied themselves with either of these two groups.
The BJP, Shiv Sena, Republican Party of India (A), Shiv Sangram, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and Rayat Kranti Sanghatana are standing on one side facing their opponents on the other, which comprises of the Congress, NCP, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Peasants and Workers Party, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, Peoples Republican Party and the Samajwadi Party.
Also, while the BJP-Sena alliance comes across as a cohesive unit, the Opposition appears to reflect incompatibility.
Among the candidates, the BJP has put up 164 candidates, Sena 126, Congress 147, NCP 121, MNS 101, BSP 262, VBA 288, CPI 16, CPI(M) 8, Other Registered Parties 604 and the remaining 1,400 Independents.
Important constituencies and candidates contesting from there:
Nagpur South West
CM Devendra Fadnavis has been elected from Nagpur South West, one of the most salient assembly seats for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, since 2009. Devendra Fadnavis is seeking the fifth consecutive term as a legislator from the city. This year, around 20 candidates are in the fray from this seat. Congress has fielded former BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh, who subsequently crossed over to the grand old party Congress, against Fadnavis.
Worli
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray will become the first member of the Thackeray family to enter electoral politics. Worli has a mix of Marathi and non-Marathi voters. From the Opposition camp, Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) nominee Suresh Mane, a Dalit leader is pitted against 29-year-old Aaditya.
Aheri
In terms of geographical area, the biggest constituency is Aheri. Both Congress and NCP have fielded their respective candidates from Aheri, despite having formed a pre-poll alliance. While the NCP has fielded Dharmaraobaba Atram, Congress' candidate is Deepak Dada Atram who had won the 2009 election as an Independent candidate and BJP's candidate is Ambrishrao Satyavanrao.
Kothrud
While the BJP is fielding Chandrakant Patil, Congress and NCP have announced their support to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate Kishor Shinde. However, Patil is facing the tag of being an "outsider" as he comes from Kolhapur.
Karad South
This seat is witnessing a battle between Congress’ Prithviraj Chavan and BJP’s Atul Suresh Bhosale. The Congress has held this seat from 1962. It would be interesting to see whether Congress will be able to continue their supremacy or not.
Bhokar
According to reports, Bhokar is one of the most drought-prone towns in the state. BJP’s Bapusaheb Gorthekar is taking on the former chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan. Ashok Chavan had won the seat in 2009.
Sangamner
Balasaheb Thorat has been entrusted with Congress' Maharashtra unit and is fighting the elections from Sangamner constituency. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief is being challenged by Shiv Sena’s Sahebrao Navale.
Baramati
The Nationalist Congress Party's strongman and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Anantrao Pawar is contesting from Pawar's traditional base, Baramati. BJP has fielded Dhangar (shepherd) community leader Gopichand Padalkar against the NCP leader. BSP's Ashok Ajinath Mane is also contesting from the constituency.
Parli
This seat is witnessing a battle between cousins Pankaja Munde and Dhananjay Munde. Pankaja Munde is the daughter of BJP veteran late Gopinath Munde while Dhananjay is the leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council representing NCP.
Karjat-Jamkhed
The grand-nephew of NCP President Sharad Pawar, Rohit Pawar is debuting from this constituency. He is pitted against BJP's Ram Shankar Shinde for this seat.
Of the state's total electorate of 8.97 crore, 4.68 crore are men and 4.28 crore are women, plus 2,634 transgender voters.
The ECI has set up 966,661 polling stations and the total number of VVPAT EVMs for voting will be 135,021 in the state.
The elections results are expected to start coming out by October 24 noon.
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