From Shinde vs Dighe to Pawar vs Pawar: Top 5 battles to watch out for in Maharashtra

Dhanush baan and tutaris are out in Maharashtra as the country's richest state braces itself for an exciting political battle. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are battling it out for getting the tag of the biggest party, their respective allies -- Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and NCP (SP) are in it for their existence. 

The BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP together form the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which currently shares the power in the state. The Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) comprise the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). 

Here are top 5 battles to watch out for in Maharashtra: 

Kopri-Pachpakhadi: Eknath Shinde vs Kedar Dighe

In this assembly constituency in Thane, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his mentor Anand Dighe's nephew will battle it out to claim the late Shiv Sena leader's legacy. CM Shinde has often called Anand Dighe as his political mentor.

Not only this, he also financed a Marathi film Dharmaveer 2, featuring National Award winning director Prasad Oak. The film was based on Dighe's life and Shinde's proximity with the late Shiv Sena strongman. 

After Dighe passed away due to a massive heart attack in 2001, Shinde took the reins of the Shiv Sena's Thane branch and rose up the ranks to get the keys to the Varsha bungalow. 

Kedar Dighe, on the other hand, is active in politics since 2006 and has held posts in the Yuva Sena, led by Aaditya Thackeray. Kedar had pressed for contesting the assembly elections but was repeatedly denied. 

Nagpur South West: Devendra Fadnavis vs Praful Gudadhe 

In this assembly election, Devendra Fadnavis is looking to clinch his stronghold for the fourth straight time. He has held the Nagpur South West assembly seat for three consecutive terms since 2009.

In the 2019 assembly election, Fadnavis won from the constituency with a margin of more than 49,000 votes. His influence in the region is significant because of his long-standing political career, development projects and strong organisational support within the BJP. 

Gudadhe, on the other hand, is known for his local roots and grassroots connect. He could benefit from voter fatigue toward the BJP or dissatisfaction with the existing administration over issues such as urban infrastructure, public services, and local concerns about BJP's economic policies. 

Baramati: Ajit Pawar vs Yugendra Pawar

Like the Lok Sabha elections 2024, it is a Pawar vs Pawar showdown in Baramati this time around as well. The NCP (SP) has fielded Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Yugendra Pawar against Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in this Pawar family stronghold. 

Yugendra has been preparing the ground for his political debut under Pawar Sr's guidance and also helped manage his aunt Supriya Sule's Lok Sabha election campaign in the constituency. He is also the Treasurer of Vidya Pratishthan, an educational institution founded by Sharad Pawar. 

Ajit Pawar, on the other hand, has retained this seat for seven consecutive terms since 1991, before Sharad Pawar walked out of the Congress to form NCP. In the 2019 assembly elections, 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. 

Worli: Milind Deora vs Aaditya Thackeray vs Sandeep Deshpande 

This key assembly constituency in Mumbai will witness a three-pronged fight between Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora, Shiv Sena (UBT) scion Aaditya Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Sandeep Deshpande. 

Deora, former MP from South Mumbai, is hoping to make it big in Worli due to his appeal among the urban middle-class voters. He has handled several positions such as the Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology and Shipping during the UPA-2 regime. 

In his first election in 2019, Aaditya Thackeray won from the cosmopolitan constituency with a whopping 89,248 votes whereas his closest rival NCP's Suresh Mane got only 21,821 votes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Thackeray did significant work in the constituency as he personally supervised admissions of COVID-positive patients in hospitals set up by the state government. 

Even though MNS has a limited voter base, Sandeep Deshpande is popular for his focus on local civic issues. Marathi-speaking voters in Worli could prefer Deshpande for his direct style and work on infrastructure and housing. 

Vandre East: Zeeshan Siddique vs Varun Sardesai

In the assembly constituency, Zeeshan enjoys strong support among young voters and the Muslim community. He is known for his direct approach to address local issues and engagement with the public on social media. He could also get sympathy votes in this election due to the daylight killing of his father and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. 

Varun Sardesai, on the other hand, is Uddhav Thackeray's nephew and stood firmly with SS (UBT) during the political split in 2022. He derives considerable influence in Vandre East due to the Shiv Sena's traditional voter base.