The Ajit Pawar-led NCP has announced its list of 38 candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled for November 20.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, also the party chief, will contest from the Baramati seat. State Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal will run from Yeola, while Dilip Walse Patil will contest from Ambegaon.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance, led by Shinde’s Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP, is up against the MVA, which includes Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction.
Ajit Pawar and party leader Praful Patel visited New Delhi on Tuesday amid reports suggesting that the BJP may contest 156 of the 288 Assembly seats, Shiv Sena 78, and the NCP 54.
The NCP has renominated 26 sitting MLAs, including ministers who backed Ajit Pawar when he joined the ruling camp. The party has also fielded sitting MLAs Sulbha Khodke (Amravati) and Hiraman Khoskar (Igatpuri), both recent defectors from the Congress.
Bharat Gavit, son of the late Congress veteran Manikrao Gavit, will contest from Navapur. Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal has been fielded from Dindori, while former minister Rajkumar Badole, previously with the BJP, has secured the ticket for Arjuni-Morgaon.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) released its second list of 45 candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on Tuesday. Party chief Raj Thackeray’s son, Amit Thackeray, will contest from the Mahim seat, while MNS spokesperson and former corporator Sandeep Deshpande will run from Worli.