Three days after the BJP released its first list of 99 candidates, its allies in the ruling MahaYuti --- Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) – on Wednesday released their release lists of 45 and 38 candidates respectively for the Maharashtra Assembly polls.
Not to be outdone, the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) released its first list of 65 candidates.
While Chief minister Eknath Shinde of the Shinde Shiv Sena will contest from Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat in Thane), deeputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will contest the Assembly elections in Baramati.
In what looks to be a tough contest, Ajit Pawar will take on his nephew Yugendra Pawar of the NCP (SP) in the second political fight within the Pawar family in less than five months
Sitting MLA Sadanand Sarvankar (Mahim-Mumbai), Manisha Ravindra Wayakar (Jogeshwari –East-Mumbai), Dilip Bhausaheb Lande (Chandivali, Mumbai) Mangesh Anant Kudalkar (Kurla, Mumbai) and Yamini Yashwant Jadhav (Byculla, Mumbai) and Kiran Samrat ( Rajapur) are among the candidates nominated by the Shinde Shiv Sena.
Other prominent leaders nominated in the Shinde Sena’s first list are Ram Kadam from Ghatkopar West, Shweta Mahale Patil from Chikli, Sreejaya Ashok Chavan from Bhokar, Nitish Rane from Kankavli, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil from Shirdi, Chandrakant Patil from Kothrud, Ashish Shelar from Vandre West, and ex-Union Minister Raosaheb Danve's son Santosh from Bhokardan.
The NCP has re-nominated 26 sitting MLAs, including ministers who were with Ajit Pawar when he split the Sharad Pawar-led, set up his own party and joined the Eknath Shinde-led Sena-BJP alliance government in July 2023.
Senior ministers of NCP (AP) Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse-Pation will contest from Yeola and Ambegaon respectively.
Dilip Mohite (Khed Alandi), Atul Benke (Junnar), Anna Bansode (Pimpri), Dattatrata Bharne (Indapur), Sunil Shelke (Maval) and Chetan Tupe (Hadapsar) are prominent faces that figured in the first list of 38 candidates released by the NCP (Ajit Pawar),
The NCP (AP) has also fielded sitting legislators Sulbha Khodke (Amravati) and Hiraman Khoskar (Igatpuri) who switched over from the Congress recently.
Meanwhile in its first list of candidates, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has nominated its former minister Aditya Thackeray from Worli.
Kedar Dighe, the nephew of late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe, has been pitted against chief minister Eknath Shinde from Thane's Kopri-Panchpakhadi constituency.
The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s other prominent candidates are: Kudal: Vaibhav Naik (Kudal0, Rajan Teli ( Sawantwadi), Rajan Vichare ( Thane), Bhaskar Jadhav (Guhaghar), Dipesh Mhatre (Dombivli), Varun Desai (Bandra East) and Sanjay Raut’s younger brother Sunil Raut (Vikhroli).
