Battleground Maharashtra: From final seat tally to big fights, all you need to know

Even after weeks of hectic negotiations, Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) could not finalise their seat-sharing for Maharashtra assembly polls till the last day of the nomination deadline, which was Tuesday. By Tuesday evening, the BJP fielded candidates for 148 assembly seats followed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena (80 seats) and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's NCP (53). In 2019, the BJP had contested 152 seats and won 106. The undivided Sena had fought 124 and bagged 56. 

In MVA, the Congress has fielded the highest number of candidates (102) followed by the Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena 94 and Sharad Pawar's NCP 88. Six seats have been left for other allies - Samajwadi Party (SP) and the CPI(M), while there is no clarity on three assembly segments.

The MVA seat-sharing may have come as a setback for Uddhav Sena as it was bargaining hard for the highest number of seats (between 120-125), considering it once commanded an edge in Maharashtra. However, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections changed the equation where Congress emerged as the single largest party by winning 13 of 17 seats, while Sena could win just 9 of 21 seats. 

Freindly Contests 

The Indian Express reported that the MVA is in a friendly fights in at least seven assembly constituencies while the Mahayuti is facing a similar contest in at least five seats. According to the report, Congress and Sena UBT have fielded candidates in Miraj (Sangli district), Solapur South (Solapur district), Digras (Yavatmal district), and Dharavi (Mumbai). In Paranda (Dharashiv district), Sena (UBT) candidate will be squaring off with Sharad Pawar's NCP while Congress candidate will contest against NCP-SP in Pandharpur, (Solapur district).

In Mahayuti, no freindly fight is happening between BJP and Shiv Sena. Shinde's Sena has fielded candidates against Ajit Pawar's NCP in three constituencies -- Mankhurd, Purandar, and Dindori. The BJP is challenging NCP candidates in Morshi, and Ashti.   

Key battles in Maharashtra  

While multple seats will be fiercly contested, all eyes will be on some high-profile constituencies where big guns are trying their luck. Among them are Worli, Kopri-Pachpakhadi, Nagpur South West, Vandre East, and Baramati. 

In Worli, Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora will be up against Shiv Sena (UBT) scion Aaditya Thackeray. Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has also fielded Sandeep Deshpande. 

In Kopri-Pachpakhadi, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be squaring off with his mentor Anand Dighe's nephew Kedar Dighe. Kedar is active in politics since 2006 and has held posts in the Yuva Sena, led by Aaditya Thackeray. 

In Nagpur South West, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will be taking on Praful Gudadhe. Fadnavis has held the Nagpur South West assembly seat for three consecutive terms since 2009. 

Baramati is set for another Pawar vs Pawar showdown. Here, Ajit Pawar will be up against Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Yugendra Pawar. Ajit Pawar has retained this seat for seven consecutive terms since 1991. In 2019, Ajit Pawar won the seat with a landslide majority since he secured around 1.95 lakh votes and bagged a vote share of 83.24 per cent. 

In Vandre East, Zeeshan Siddique, son of Baba Siddique, is taking on Varun Sardesai, a cousin of Aaditya Thackeray. Sardesai plays a key role in the party's youth wing and was instrumental Yuva Sena's victory in the Mumbai University senate elections.