The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released the first list of 99 candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections scheduled next month, naming Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from Nagpur Souty West and party's state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule from Kamthi.
The first list also included the names of Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan from Jamner seat, Sudhir Mungantiwar from Ballarpur, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Selar from Vandre West, Mangal Prabhat Lodha from Malabar Hill, Rahul Narwekar from Colaba, Chhatrapati Shivendra Raje Bhosale from Satara.
The list also included the names of senior party leader and Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane's son Nitesh Rane, fielded from Kankavli, a seat he currently represents in the assembly, former state president Chandrakant Patil from Kothrud and former chief minister Ashok Chavan's daughter Sreejaya Chavan from Bhokar.
While the party has retained 71 sitting MLAs, the BJP dropped Ganpat Gaikwad from Kalyan East ticket and named his wife Sulabha Kalu Gaikwad from the seat. The party fielded 13 women candidates in the first list.
BJP Renominated 14 Out Of 16 MLAs In Mumbai
Out of 16 MLAs in Mumbai, the BJP has renominated 14 in the first list, including Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar from the Vandre West seat and Narayan Rane's son Nitesh Rane, renominated from Kankavli constituency in coastal Sindhudurg.
Bawankule, a minister in the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis-led government, was denied a ticket in the 2019 elections from the Kamthi constituency he had represented for three terms. He has been renominated from Kamthi.
The saffron party has replaced the sitting MLAs from Chinchwad in Pune district, Kalyan East in Thane district, and Srigonda in Ahilyanagar district.
In some constituencies, the BJP has allotted tickets to family members of satraps including Sulbha Gaikwad, wife of sitting MLA Ganpat Gaikwad who is in jail for allegedly shooting at a rival politician in a police station. Ashish Shelar's brother Vinod Shelar will test the electoral waters from the Malad West seat.
Vinod will challenge sitting Congress MLA and former minister Aslam Shaikh. Sulbha Gaikwad will contest from the Kalyan east constituency; Pratibha Pachpute will replace her husband Babanrao Pachpute from Srigonda segment in Ahilyanagar district
The BJP is looking to contest around 150 seats in the state but is involved in seat-sharing talks with its allies- Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
The voting for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly polls will be held in a single phase on November 20. The counting of the votes will be held on November 23 and the results will be declared the same day.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are seeking to retain power in the November 20 polls to the 288-member Assembly.