Maharashtra Polls: BJP Drops 8 MLAs, Congress 5; Shiv Sena Retains Its Line-Up

Mumbai: With the nomination deadline for the Maharashtra assembly elections now closed, it has come to light that the BJP and Congress have dropped the maximum number of sitting MLAs among the major political parties.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has opted not to grant tickets to eight MLAs, while Congress has replaced five MLAs. Both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar , have chosen not to grant tickets to two incumbent MLAs each. Notably, the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde , has retained nearly all the MLAs who sided with Shinde during the rebellion, with only one exception.

Voting for 288 seats will take place on November 20, and the counting of votes will occur on November 23. The exact number of candidates fielded by each constituent of the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition MVA alliance remains unclear, as some parties have submitted nomination forms for two candidates in certain constituencies.

Among the most surprising decisions by the BJP is the replacement of Sunil Rane, the sitting MLA from Borivali in Mumbai, with Sanjay Upadhyay. Other incumbents denied tickets include Sandeep Dhurve from Arni and Namdev Sasane from Umarkhed, who will be succeeded by Raju Todsam and Kisan Wankhede, respectively.

The BJP has also replaced Dada Kenche from Arvi and Vikas Kumbhare from Nagpur Central with Sumit Wankhede and Praveen Datke, respectively. Wankhede previously served as an assistant to BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis , while Datke is a sitting Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) for the party.

Interestingly, Ashwini Jagtap from Chinchwad has been replaced by her brother-in-law, Shankar Jagtap. The party has also chosen to field Sulabha Gaikwad, the wife of jailed MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, from Kalyan East, where she had allegedly fired at a Shiv Sena rival inside a police station. Additionally, Lakhan Malik, a four-time winner from Washim, has been replaced by Shyam Khode.

The Congress party has replaced five incumbent MLAs. Hemant Ogale will contest from Shrirampur, taking over from Lahu Kanade, while former Zilla Parishad officer Rajkumar Puram replaces Sahasram Korote in Amgaon. Notably, Shirish Chaudhary will not be seeking re-election; instead, his son Dhananjay will run from Raver.

The party has also dropped Sulabha Khodke and Hiraman Khoskar from Amravati and Igatpuri seats, respectively, due to anti-party activities. Both candidates have now secured nominations from the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Sunil Deshmukh will represent Congress from the Amravati constituency, and Lackybhau Jadhav will run from Igatpuri.

The NCP (SP) has replaced Katol MLA and former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh with his son Salil Deshmukh. In the Madha constituency, the Sharad Pawar-led party has nominated Abhijeet Patil instead of repeating Babanrao Shinde. Ajit Pawar's faction of the NCP denied tickets to Manohar Chandrikapure from Arjuni Morgaon and Balasaheb Ajabe from Ashti, replacing them with former BJP minister Rajkumar Badole and ex-MLC Suresh Dhas, respectively.

The Shiv Sena denied a ticket to only one sitting MLA, Shrinivas Vanga from Palghar, and fielded former Lok Sabha member Rajendra Gavit in his place.

(With PTI Inputs)