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Maharashtra Elections 2024: State To Go For Polls On November 20; Counting Of Votes On November 23

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Maharashtra Elections 2024: State To Go For Polls On November 20; Counting Of Votes On November 23

Mumbai: The Election Commission of India (ECI) today announced the schedule for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, setting the stage for a high-stakes political battle in the state. The elections will be conducted in a single phase, with the polling date on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.

The announcement brings Maharashtra, one of the country’s most politically crucial states, closer to determining its next government. With 288 Assembly seats up for grabs, the elections are expected to be a crucial contest between the ruling Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Tough Fight Between Both Alliances

The ruling Mahayuti, a coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also includes the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar. This alliance currently holds power in the state, with Eknath Shinde serving as Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Ministers.

On the other side, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is gearing up for a tough contest. The MVA consists of the Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). The coalition, which previously governed the state until political shifts in 2022, is positioning itself to challenge the ruling Mahayuti on various fronts, including economic and social issues.

Key Battles & Major Concerns

The key battlegrounds for the election will be the state’s urban centres like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, as well as rural regions where agrarian issues, unemployment and infrastructure development remain major concerns. Both coalitions are expected to focus heavily on these issues during their campaigns, with the Mahayuti likely to emphasize continuity and development and the MVA focusing on governance and policy critiques of the current administration.

The Maharashtra Assembly’s term is set to conclude on November 26. The last Assembly elections in Maharashtra were held in 2019 and the state has since witnessed major political shifts, most notably the splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP along with their alliance with the BJP.

Maharashtra

Call for ‘limited’ officials in nationalist’s new resolution camp, resentment at its peak in Vidarbha

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Mumbai: There is growing resentment in the party due to the invitation of selected officials of Vidarbha to the two-day Navsankalp camp organized by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Shirdi. An atmosphere of discontent has been created as many senior leaders of Vidarbha were not invited to the camp.

Only four officials invited from Vidarbha

Only four officials from Nagpur district—Prashant Pawar (Nagpur city president), Baba Gujar (district president), Shrikant Shivankar (city working president), and Anil Ahirkar (state vice-president)—have been invited to this camp. The rest of the officials have been instructed not to attend this camp. There is deep resentment among other leaders due to this decision.

Questions of angry leaders

The Nationalist Congress had performed brilliantly in Vidarbha in the assembly elections. Six out of seven candidates had won. These officials say that after working hard in the elections, they are now being ignored. “Is our need over after the elections?” is the question raised by these leaders.

Complaint of displeasure to Ajit Pawar

Some displeased leaders have lodged their complaint by directly contacting Deputy Chief Minister and NCP National President Ajit Pawar. However, it is being told that Pawar has verbally given permission to some leaders to join the camp. Despite this, permission has not been given to join the camp without authorized invitation.

Fear of factionalism in Vidarbha

The Nationalist Congress is already organizationally weak in Vidarbha. But now there is a possibility of factionalism increasing due to such decisions. Some leaders allege that a senior leader of East Vidarbha has given a chance to join the camp only to his close associates.

Possibility of impact on civic elections

The civic and district council elections are near. In such a situation, growing displeasure and factionalism within the party can weaken the strength of the organization. The displeased workers also believe that sidelining them can have a negative impact on the party’s upcoming electoral performance.

The issue of displeasure may arise in the camp

The issue of dissatisfaction of Vidarbha is likely to be raised in this Navsankalp camp being held in Shirdi. If the leadership does not take concrete steps on this issue, this resentment can become a big headache for the party.

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Maharashtra

MLA Satish Chavan of Sharad Pawar’s group left, will join Ajit Pawar’s group, will participate in the program in Shirdi

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Mumbai: There has been a significant change in the factionalism going on in the Nationalist Congress Party. In the Lok Sabha elections, Sharad Pawar’s faction gave a big blow to Ajit Pawar’s faction. Sharad Pawar’s faction won 8 seats, while Ajit Pawar’s faction got only one seat. Also, the defeat of Sunetra Pawar also proved to be a big event. Before the assembly elections, there was a wave of people joining Sharad Pawar’s faction, but now after the elections, a big change is being seen in the situation.

After the assembly elections, some leaders of Ajit Pawar’s faction had hinted at joining Sharad Pawar’s faction, in which the names of some MPs were also being taken. However, both the Pawars had rejected this discussion. But now a prominent MLA of Sharad Pawar’s faction, Satish Chavan, has decided to leave Sharad Pawar. He is going to join Ajit Pawar’s faction, and his entry will take place at an event to be held in Shirdi.

Satish Chavan’s entry – a big blow to Sharad Pawar

Satish Chavan is currently an MLA and contested from Gangapur assembly seat. While he was in Sharad Pawar’s faction, he was suspended by Ajit Pawar for six years. He was defeated in the assembly elections, but now he has decided to return to Ajit Pawar’s faction. His decision is being considered a big blow to Sharad Pawar, because Chavan has given a new twist to his prophecy by joining Ajit Pawar’s faction.

Satish Chavan will join Ajit Pawar’s faction in a program to be held in Shirdi on Saturday. His party entry ceremony will be held in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in this program. Along with this, the decision of six years suspension against Chavan will also be withdrawn.

Chavan’s decision indicates increasing Ajit Pawar’s influence in Vidarbha

Satish Chavan’s entry into the party may further strengthen the influence of Ajit Pawar’s faction in Vidarbha. This development indicates internal conflict and factionalism in Sharad Pawar’s faction. Gangapur assembly seat was earlier with BJP, where Chavan contested from Sharad Pawar’s faction, but after the defeat, he is now joining Ajit Pawar’s faction.

It is hoped that this decision of Satish Chavan will further strengthen Ajit Pawar’s leadership and increase the organizational strength of Nationalist Congress in Vidarbha. This will prove to be a big setback for Sharad Pawar’s faction.

It is now being speculated that more leaders will enter Ajit Pawar’s faction and the unity of the party will increase, while internal conflict and factionalism may emerge once again in Sharad Pawar’s faction.

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Maharashtra

Angry Chhagan Bhujbal attends Nationalist convention in Shirdi

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Mumbai: Disgruntled leader Chhagan Bhujbal attended the Nationalist Congress Party convention in Shirdi. An important issue regarding his attendance was that Bhujbal was dissatisfied with the internal politics of the party. Bhujbal always expresses his opinion clearly and his attendance has given rise to many political discussions. Many leaders had made strong efforts for his attendance.

Bhujbal discussed with the party’s working president Praful Patel for two hours. In this discussion, the future of the party and various issues were discussed in detail. Bhujbal was upset with the party leadership for some time, but after this discussion he decided to attend the convention. During the discussion, there was also a phone conversation with Tatkare, which revealed important points of this discussion.

Bhujbal had contacted many political leaders to attend the Nationalist convention, but he did not succeed in contacting Ajit Pawar. There was some political turmoil due to Ajit Pawar’s absence, but Bhujbal ignored it and attended the convention.

All eyes are on what kind of guidance Bhujbal will give in the convention. His presence in this convention in Shirdi indicates that there may be a new turn in the internal politics of NCP. What will be his future role will be clear in the coming times.

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