Maharashtra Polls: BJP's first list likely to be revealed tomorrow

On the sidelines of the election, the Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to announce the first list of the candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on Sunday, a party source said. The elections are slated to take place on October 21.

"The list of candidates will be finalised after state leaders discuss it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is returning to the country tomorrow," the source said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Chandrakant Patil are scheduled to go to Delhi on Sunday. Some ticket aspirants have already collected nomination forms from the government offices, he said. The last date of submission of nomination forms is October 4.

READ | BJP reviews poll readiness in all Maharashtra seats amid tie-up delay

Thackeray on the upcoming assembly elections 

Uddhav Thackeray, in an address to the party workers and ticket aspirants at the Rang Sharda Auditorium, Bandra, notified the people that he is all set to fulfill the dreams he had made to his father Bal Thackeray. Further stating his aim, he said that the goal is to make a Shiv Sainik (party worker) the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Thackeray spoke of the alliance stating that if the alliance were to materialise, the Shiv Sena party is not going to be the one to ‘backstab’ and it would further oppose openly if it had to. Speaking of his promise made to his father, Thackeray asserts that the main goal is to make sure that the Sena comes in power. 

READ | Maharashtra Polls: Sena leader says 'alliance with BJP a certainty'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that Shiv Sena and BJP will contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections jointly in his visit to Mumbai on September 22. However, Diwakar Raote, senior Shiv Sena leader and Minister in Maharashtra government, had recently said that the alliance will break if the Sena doesn't get to contest 50% of the seats. A few days later, Sena leader Sanjay Raut had said -

"BJP will have to respect the 50-50 formula that was decided in the presence of Shah and Fadnavis."

READ | Shiv Sena slams Sharad Pawar's 'coward' remark, says he too left Cong

READ | Shiv Sena-BJP alliance announcement in 2 days: Uddhav Thackeray

(With inputs from PTI)