Maharashtra Elections: NCP Releases Initial Candidate List, Ajit Pawar to Contest from Baramati

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, with party chief Ajit Pawar set to contest from the family’s stronghold, Baramati. The NCP is participating in the elections as part of an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena.

Voting for the 288 assembly seats will take place in a single phase on November 20, with results expected to be announced on November 23.

On Tuesday, the Shiv Sena also revealed its first list, featuring 45 candidates for the elections. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will contest from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly constituency. Other candidates include Manisha Ravindra Waykar for Jogeshwari (East), Suhas Dwarkanath Kande from Nandgao, Pradip Shivnarayan Jaiswal from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Middle), and Balaji Devidasrao Kalyankar from Nanded North. Sada Sarvankar has been nominated to contest from Mahim against Amit Thackeray, son of Raj Thackeray.

During a recent meeting on October 18, the Shiv Sena advocated for CM Shinde to be positioned as the chief ministerial candidate.

As the elections approach, both the ruling Mahayuti alliance—comprising the BJP and the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena—and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, along with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress, are ramping up their preparations.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP secured 105 seats, the Shiv Sena won 56, and the Congress garnered 44. In 2014, the BJP claimed 122 seats, the Shiv Sena won 63, and the Congress obtained 42 seats.

Opposition’s Seat-Sharing Dilemma

Leaders from the opposition’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance convened in Mumbai late Tuesday night, suggesting that discussions on the seat-sharing arrangement for the assembly elections have reached a conclusion. The MVA includes the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).

However, negotiations, particularly between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress, faced obstacles. Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat met with NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) president Sharad Pawar before subsequently engaging with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.