Maharashtra Election 5 Key Constituencies Where Political Giants Clash
From Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, to Yugendra Pawar, Aaditya Thackeray, and Zeeshan Siddique, prominent leaders from these five constituencies will lock horns in the Maharashtra election
As both the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) anxiously await the results of the election to determine who will govern the nation’s financial center for the next five years, the fight for Maharashtra is currently over. Political parties also believe that such surveys should be taken with a grain of salt, even though Wednesday’s exit polls gave the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti some hope, as most pollsters expected an advantage for the Sena-BJP-NCP (Ajit Pawar group).
On November 23, the Maharashtra election results will be made public. For now, News18 examines five important constituencies that will be the focus of everyone’s attention due to the greats’ fight.
Triangular Battle for Worli: Deora, Thackeray Jr., and Deshpande vie for Prominent Assembly Seat
Milind Deora of the Sena, Aaditya Thackeray, the son of Uddhav Thackeray and a scion of the Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sandeep Deshpande of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will compete in a triangular race for the prominent assembly seat.
Former South Mumbai lawmaker Deora has served in a number of important capacities, notably as the UPA-2 government’s minister of state for communications, information technology, and shipping. He is certain of winning over urban middle-class voters after defecting from the Congress to Shinde’s Sena. In an interview with CNN-News18 on Wednesday, Deora claimed that Mahayuti had sparked progress in the state. “We have exposed the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s phony tale. Eknath Shinde, the chief minister, has a positive reputation. I have a close relationship with Worli, and I will continue to work for them no matter what happens.”
Aaditya Thackeray, who won a resounding victory from Worli with 89,248 votes in his first election in 2019, will face Deora. In the constituency, Thackeray Jr. earned recognition for actively participating during the COVID-19 epidemic and is seen as a young leader who may continue the tradition of his father and grandfather, Balasaheb Thackeray.
Meanwhile, MNS’ Deshpande enjoys popularity among Marathi-speaking voters and is renowned for emphasizing local issues, particularly housing and infrastructure.
Pawar Family Clash: Ajit Pawar Faces Off Against Nephew Yugendra Pawar in Baramati
Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and Sharad Pawar’s grandson Yugendra Pawar will face off in Baramati, the stronghold of the Pawar family, in another family conflict. Despite being new to politics, Yugendra has received guidance from both his aunt Supriya Sule and seasoned politician Sharad Pawar. Additionally, he is the treasurer of Vidya Pratishthan, a school that Sharad Pawar founded.
In the meantime, Ajit Pawar has ruled the Pawar family’s home seat. Since 1991, he has won seven consecutive terms. In 2019, Ajit Pawar secured a resounding 83.24 percent of the vote and received around 1.95 lakh votes.
Voters’ devotion will face a test this time around: will they choose Pawar Sr.’s nephew, who also has a strong connection to the constituency, or will they give his mentee an opportunity to prove their support?
Fadnavis Faces Challenge from Congress’ Prafful Gudadhe in Nagpur South West
Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister and the BJP’s spokesperson in the state, will defend his territory against Prafful Gudadhe of the Congress, a powerful figure who has quenched internal strife within his party to provide a serious threat to Fadnavis.
Since 2009, Fadnavis has served as the representative for Nagpur South West, earning three consecutive terms. He received more than 49,000 votes in the 2019 election. Gudadhe, renowned for his ability to interact with people at the grassroots level, could leverage the public’s disapproval of some of the BJP’s economic policies to deal a serious blow to the party.
“Varun Sardesai Faces Zeeshan Siddique in Vandre East Battle”
Varun Sardesai, the nephew of Uddhav Thackeray, will run against Zeeshan Siddique in the assembly constituency.
Young voters and the Muslim community support Zeeshan Siddique, who is well-known for tackling local problems and interacting with voters on social media to assist them find solutions.In addition, Zeeshan is the son of Baba Siddique, a recent NCP politician whom the Lawrence Bishnoi gang shot dead one month before the elections. According to experts, Zeeshan might receive some pity votes as a result.
While the Shiv Sena (UBT) split in 2022, Sardesai remained a devoted member of the party. He holds considerable influence in Vandre East and has courted the Sena’s traditional base of supporters.
“Eknath Shinde to Contest Against Kedar Dighe in Kopri-Pachpakhadi”
In the Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly constituency in Thane, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will face off against Kedar Dighe, the nephew of his political mentor Anand Dighe.
Shinde has often cited Anand Dighe as his political mentor, and he even provided funding for the Marathi movie Dharmaveer 2, which is based on Dighe is life and emphasizes Shinde’s close ties to the late Shiv Sena leader. Eknath Shinde has won the last three elections from this seat since the constituency’s creation in 2009.
