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The upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Elections are heating up as political parties release their candidate lists. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) made its first move on Wednesday, announcing a list of 38 candidates vying for seats in the state assembly. Among the notable names on the list is Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister, who will contest from his traditional stronghold, Baramati. Senior NCP leader Chaggan Singh Bhujbal will be contesting the elections from the Yeola seat.
The NCP list also includes other prominent party members like Dilip Walse Patil, who will be contesting from Ambegaon, and Hasan Mushrif, who is from Kagal. The party's strategic move also included candidates who recently joined the NCP from the Congress party. This includes Hiraman Khoskar, who will contest from Igatpuri, and Shulbha Khodke, who is contesting from Amravati. Both Khoskar and Khodke were previously Congress MLAs and joined the NCP under the leadership of Ajit Pawar. Notably, Khodke was expelled from the Congress on October 12, while Khoskar joined the party on the night of October 14.
The NCP's list comes just after the Shiv Sena (led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) released its first list of 45 candidates. The list saw CM Shinde contesting from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly constituency. Other notable names on the list include Manisha Ravindra Waykar from Jogeshwari (East), Suhas Dwarkanath Kande from Nandgao, Pradip Shivnarayan Jaiswal from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Balaji Devidasrao Kalyankar from Nanded North. While announcing his party's list, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed confidence in the 'Mahayuti' alliance's chances of winning the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, stating that the alliance would win with a large majority.
The BJP, a key partner in the 'Mahayuti' alliance, also released its first list of 99 candidates. Their list includes Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who will contest from Nagpur South West, and BJP state president Chandrashekhar Krishnarao Bawankule, who will contest from the Kamthi seat. The release of these initial lists by the key players in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections signals the start of a heated campaign period. With the candidates now announced, the focus will shift to campaigning strategies and garnering support from the electorate.