A high-octane poll campaigning came to an end on Monday with the stage set for Mahayuti vs Maha Vias Aghadi (MVA) battle. The 288-legislative assembly seats of Maharashtra will vote on November 20 while the counting of votes will take place on November 23. The MahaYuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, is aiming to overcome anti-incumbency sentiments and retain power, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), including Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP-SP, is hopeful of replicating its previous success in the Lok Sabha elections by defeating the grand alliance.
Approximately 9.70 crore voters, including 47,389 individuals aged between 100 and 150 years, are eligible to cast their votes on November 20. A total of 4,136 candidates representing 158 parties, along with independent contenders, are competing in the elections. Voting will be conducted at 1,00,186 polling stations across the state.
Mahayuti’ Poll Plank
The BJP-led MahaYuti alliance has approached the voters based on two and half years of the state government’s work making a strong pitch for support for continuity in the state’s development story. It projected the Maha Vikas Aghadi as one who puts brakes and roadblocks in the state’s development while arguing that after the MahaYuti came to power key infrastructure projects including Samruddhi Marg, Mumbai Metro, Mumbai Coastal Road and Atal Setu were completed while launching several other projects. The MahaYuti also painted the state’s pre-eminence in attracting domestic and foreign direct investments during its tenure while blaming the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the state losing its ranking during its tenure.
The grand alliance is riding on the charisma and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state government’s freebies including welfare and development schemes worth Rs 1 lakh crore with a focus on the Ladki Bahin Yojana. The MahaYuti has promised to increase the pace of the state’s development laying emphasis on inclusiveness through its 10 guarantees including the rise in monthly benefit to Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,500 under Ladki Bahin Yojana, waiver of farmers’ loans, price stabilisation for essential commodities, creation of 25 lakh jobs with a monthly tuition aid of Rs 10,000 for 10 lakh students through specialised training programmes, focus on solar and renewable energy and making Maharashtra a $1 trillion economy.
Maha Vikas Aghadi’s Counter
On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has appealed to the voters to vote out the MahaYuti alliance for the flight of capital and investments, farmers’ plight especially in the wake of increasing farmers suicides, lower prices of cotton and soybean against the guaranteed ones, lack of jobs for youth and educated, rise in cases of molestation and rapes, deteriorating law and order, rampant corruption, collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue in Sindhudurg district and its surrender before the Delhi seat. The Maha Vikas Aghadi came out with a “Traitors’ Report” against the MahaYuti especially to focus on the manner in which BJP engineered splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP threatening actions from the central probe agencies.
The opposition targeted the MahaYuti government for the increase in the revenue and fiscal deficits especially due to dole outs and rising debt burden. They also alleged corruption and exchange of money during the award of various contracts that were done by carrying out “non-transparent” tendering processes. Moreover, the Maha Vikas Aghadi cornered the MahaYuti over the issue of change in the Constitution and the scrapping of reservations as done during the general elections. The Maha Vikas Aghadi in a bid to checkmate the MahaYuti in its Panchsutri (five-point manifesto) announced the Mahalakshmi Scheme promising a monthly aid of Rs 3,000 to women and free travel in state transport buses. This apart, the Maha Vikas Aghadi announced a monthly aid of Rs 4,000 to unemployed youth, a waiver in crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh and an incentive of Rs 50,000 for those who are repaying the farm loans regularly.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi also assured caste census and removal of the 50 per cent reservation limit which is to address the quota demands from Maratha, Dhangar, OBCs and Muslim communities. It has also assured free medicines and medical insurance of Rs 25 lakh. It also promised the voters that the government would not help a select few industrialists but take pro-development decisions while safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders.
Key Constituencies And Candidates
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is engaged in a direct fight against his mentor and former Thane district chief of Shiv Sena (united) Anand Dighe’s nephew Kedar Dighe from the Kopri-Panchpakhadi constituency in his home turf Thane. The Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is pitted against the Congress nominee Pramod Gudadhe from Nagpur South West constituency.
The NCP President and Deputy Chief Minister AJit Pawar, who deserted his uncle and joined the MahaYuti in July 2023, is taking on his nephew and NCP-SP candidate Yugendra Pawar from the Baramati constituency. A veteran OBC leader and NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal faces a challenge for his fifth win in a row in the Yevala seat from NCP-SP candidate Manikrao Shinde from the Maratha community. The contest is important against the backdrop of recent protests over the Maratha and OBC reservations.
Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray is locked in a triangular contest against former union minister and Shiv Sena nominee Milind Deora and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) nominee Sandip Deshpande from Worli constituency with a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s son and party nominee Amit Thackeray during his electoral debut faces a challenge from Shiv Sena’s three-term legislator Sada Sarvankar and Shiv Sena UBT nominee Mahesh Sawant from Mahim constituency.
State Congress chief Nana Patole is fighting against the BJP nominee Avinash Brahmankar from the SAakoli constituency. Congress nominee and former minister Amit Deshmukh, who is the son of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, is engaged in a direct fight against BJP nominee Archana Patil, who is the daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader and former union minister Shivraj Patil, from Latur city.
His brother Dhiraj Deshmukh is taking on BJP’s member of the legislative council Ramesh Karad, an education baron, from the Latur rural constituency. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar is pitted against Congress nominee Asif Zakaria from Bandra West constituency, state assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar against Congress nominee Hira Devasi from Colaba seat, BJP minister Mangalprabhat Lodha against Shiv Sena UBT nominee Bhairu Chaudhari from Malabar Hill constituency and former BJP spokesperson Shaina NC, who is now Shiv Sena nominee, against Congress candidate Amit Patel from Mumbadevi constituency.
NCP Minister Hasan Mushrif is pitted against NCP-SP nominee Samarjeetsingh Ghatge from Kagal constituency, another NCP minister Dhananjay Munde against NCP-SP nominee Rajesaheb Deshmukh from Parli, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule against Congress candidate Suresh Bhoyar and BJP minister Atul Save against MIM candidate and former MP Imtiyaz Jaleel from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar East. Former minister Harshvardhan Patil, who left the BJP and joined the Sharad Pawar faction, is locked in a direct fight against NCP nominee Datta Mama Bharne.
Former union minister and BJP MP Narayan Rane’s son and party nominee Nitesh Rane is seeking re-election from the Kankavli seat against Shiv Sena UBT nominee Sandesh Parkar. Rane’s other son and former MP Nilesh Rane left BJP and joined Shiv Sena before the last date of filing nominations. Nilesh Rane is locked in a direct fight against Shiv Sena UBT nominee Vaibhav Naik from the Kudal constituency. Naik had defeated Narayan Rane, who had contested as the Congress nominee in the 2014 elections.
Former minister and NCP nominee Nawab Malik is contesting against Samajwadi Party nominee Abu Azmi from the Mankhurd-Shivajinagar constituency while Malik’s daughter and NCP candidate Sana Malik is pitted against NCP-SP nominee Farhad Ahmad from Anushaktinagar seat. NCP-SP nominee Jitendra Awhad is fighting against his former associate and the NCP candidate Najeeb Mulla from the Mumbra-Kalwa constituency. (With IANS inputs)
