BJP releases 4th list for Maharashtra polls, two big names excluded

As the BJP released its fourth list of seven candidates on Friday for the Maharashtra Assembly polls scheduled on October 21, it has dropped senior leader Eknath Khadse and cabinet minister Vinod Tawde. Instead, the party has fielded Eknath Khadse's daughter Rohini from his Muktainagar constituency in north Maharashtra, which was represented by her father since 1991. The party also dropped cabinet minister Tawde and fielded Sunil Rane from Borivali seat.

READ| Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil files his nomination

One of the senior-most BJP leaders in Maharashtra, Eknath Khadse had also been sidelined in the party following allegations of corruption and that he misused his office in a land deal. He had to resign as revenue minister in 2016. Moreover, he has not been inducted into the Cabinet by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis despite cabinet reshuffle. Party sources said it was made clear to him that he would not be given a ticket this time. However, in a major twist, Khadse, 67, had filed his nomination papers from the seat this week as an Independent candidate. List of candidates in the fourth list are given below:

READ| Maharashtra polls: Cong fields Ashish Deshmukh against BJP's Fadnavis

Maharashtra elections

Maharashtra which has 288 Assembly seats will go to polls on 21 October 2019, the Election Commission announced on Saturday noon. Maharashtra assembly elections will be held in a single-phase, and the counting procedure would be conducted on October 24. The Election Commission chief Sunil Arora also announced that the last date of nomination is on October 4. Arora also informed that the parties in Maharashtra had wanted the polls to be concluded by Dhanteras. 

READ| MNS releases the first list of 27 candidates for upcoming assembly polls

Here is the detailed schedule:

• Issue of notification for both states (Haryana and Maharashtra) - 27 September
• last date of nomination - 4 October
• Scrutiny of nomination -5 October
• Withdrawal of nomination- 7 October
• Polling date for both states - 21 October (Single phase)
• Counting of votes - 24 October
• Conclusion of polls - 27 October

READ| Aaditya Thackeray to contest from Worli in the Maharashtra elections