 "Maharashtra poll results: Worli, Mahim, Baramati - 10 battleground seats")
Maharashtra Assembly election results 2024: The counting of votes for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections began on Saturday, with 288 seats up for grabs. The outcome will set the course for the state’s political landscape over the next five years.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance, which comprises of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is at loggerheads with the Maha Vikas Aghadi – opposition alliance of the Congress, Sharad Pawar’s NCP, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena.
The counting trend at 8 am showed that ‘Mahayuti’ with their National Democratic Alliance partners were ahead of their rivals on at least 65 seats. The Maha Vikas Aghadi was ahead on 15 seats. There are at least 10 battleground Assembly constituencies, where elections are about deep-rooted family politics, legacy, and personal prestige. These include Mumbai’s high-profile Worli seat, Mahim, Kopri-Pachpakhadi, Baramati among others.
A look at these 10 key seats and why they matter:
1) Worli - Incumbent MLA Aaditya Thakceray, son of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, is eyeing to retain this high-profile constituency in central Mumbai. This seat is part of Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency, where Thackeray faces challenge from former Congress leader Milind Murli Deora, who is now a part of Shinde’s Sena.
2) Bandra (East) - Zeeshan Siddique, the son of slain politician Baba Siddique, will contest to retain this seat in a triangular contest. While Zeeshan may be hoping to have an edge due to his father’s popularity, his decision to switch from Congress to Ajit Pawar’s camp could be tricky as the constituency has a significant Muslim population. He will face Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) Trupti Sawant, and Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Varun Sardesai, the cousin of Aaditya Thackeray.
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3) Mahim: Key contenders on this central Mumbai seat, which is home of the roots of Shiv Sena party, include Mahesh Sawant of Sena (UBT), Sada Sarvankar of Shiv Sena, and Amit Thackeray of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the son of MNS chief Raj Thackeray.
4) Nagpur South West: Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to contest from this seat, which he has held since 2009. Considered a BJP bastion, this time Nagpur South West could prove to be an unpredictable battle between Fadnavis and his Congress rival Prafulla Gudhade Patil. Inflation and the impact of heavy rains are two most significant issues of this constituency.
5) Kopri-Pachpakhadi: CM Eknath Shinde is hoping to return to power as a legitimately chosen leader, two years after his rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray altered the political landscape of the state. Shine has represented this seat consecutively since 2004, and will face Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Kedar Dighe, who is the nephew of Shinde’s late political mentor Anand Dighe.
6) Yeola: State Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, once Sharad Pawar’s closest aide, who switched to Ajit Pawar’s side during the 2023 rebellion, will contest to retain this seat for the fifth time.
7) Baramati constituency: Ajit Pawar will contest the Baramati Assembly seat for the first time since splitting from the family’s party and joining the Mahayuti alliance. It remains to be seen whether he can win the public’s confidence, or if the electorate will side with Sharad Pawar by choosing Yugendra Pawar. Ajit Pawar is Yugendra’s uncle.
8) Ambegaon: State Minister Dilip Walse to contest from this key seat, hoping to retain it for the eighth time. Once Sharad Pawar’s personal secretary but switched to Ajit Pawar’s camp during the 2023 rebellion.
9) Kothrud: Chandrakant Patil is contesting from the Kothrud constituency, which is considered a power centre of Pune. The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have never achieved success here.
10) Latur: Congress candidate Dhiraj Deshmukh, the younger brother of Bollywood actor Dhiraj Deshmukh, will take on BJP’s Ramesh Karad in the Latur (Rural).