30 October,2024 08:14 PM IST | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | mid-day online correspondent
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting on the most number of seats - 20 of 46 - in the Marathwada region in the Maharashtra Assembly election 2024, news agency PTI reported.
The region in Central Maharashtra comprises the districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, and Parbhani. It has been the epicentre of the Maratha protests steered by activist Manoj Jarange.
The Mahayuti - comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) could win only one of the eight seats in Marathwada in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year.
The Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister (CM) Eknath Shinde, has fielded candidates in 16 constituencies in this region. Five ministers from Shinde's cabinet have been given tickets in the region.
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NCP has nominated nine candidates in Marathwada for the Maharashtra Assembly election 2024. The party has not fielded any candidate in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna and Dharashiv districts, while the Shiv Sena will not be contesting any seats in Beed and Latur, PTI reported.
The Mahayuti has given the Gangakhed seat in the region to Mahadev Jankar's Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, which has fielded Ratnakar Gutte.
Among the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) parties, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has named 16 candidates from the region. These include the Sillod, Kannad, Vaijapur, Aurangabad Central, Aurangabad West and Paithan seats in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. Five of the six leaders from the undivided Shiv Sena who had won in the district in 2019, sided with CM Shinde when he had rebelled against the Thackeray-led party in 2022.
Meanwhile, Sena (UBT) is not contesting in any constituency in the Beed district.
The other two MVA partners, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress, each have got 15 seats to contest in Marathdwada, PTI reported.
NCP (SP) has at least one candidate in all eight districts of Maharashtra, while the Congress is not in the fray in the Beed and Hingoli districts.
Minister Abdul Sattar will fight on a Shiv Sena ticket against Suresh Bankar, who recently joined Sena (UBT) from BJP in Sillod.
Meanwhile, Housing Minister Atul Save, who is from BJP, is pitted against All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen's (AIMIM) former Member of Parliament (MP) Imtiaz Jaleel and Lahu Shevale of Congress in the Aurangabad East constituency.
In the Parli seat of Beed district, Minister Dhananjay Munde, who will be representing NCP, will be pitted against Rajesaheb Deshmukh of NCP (SP).
Another minister, Tanaji Sawant of Shiv Sena, is locked in a three-cornered fight in Paranda seat in Dharashiv district, where NCP (SP) has fieded Rahul Mote and its MVA partner Sena (UBT) has nominated Ranjit Patil.
In Latur district's Udgir, NCP Minister Sanjay Bansode will take on Sudhakar Bhalerao of NCP (SP).
The Maharashtra Assembly election will be held on November 20 on all 288 seats and the votes will be counted three days later.
