BJP names 99 candidates for Maharashtra elections, Fadnavis to contest from Nagpur

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of 99 candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, scheduled for November 20, 2024. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will contest from Nagpur South West, a seat he has represented for years. Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has been fielded from Kamthi, alongside key ministers such as Girish Mahajan (Jamner), Sudhir Mungantiwar (Ballarpur), and Mangal Prabhat Lodha (Malabar Hill).

Shrijaya Chavan, daughter of BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan, will make her electoral debut from Bhokar. Other notable candidates include Ashish Shelar from Vandre West, Rahul Narwekar from Colaba, and Chhatrapati Shivendra Raje Bhosale from Satara. The BJP’s list highlights a mix of established leaders and new faces.

Maharashtra will hold its elections in a single phase on November 20, with results announced on November 23. The BJP, in alliance with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is aiming to retain power in the 288-member Assembly. In the 2019 elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) secured 56, and Congress claimed 44. In comparison, the BJP had won 122 seats in 2014.

The list reflects the BJP’s strategy of focusing on both its established strongholds and regions where it aims to expand influence. Fadnavis’s candidacy from Nagpur South West and other key names in the list underscore the party’s approach of balancing experienced candidates with newer contenders.

The upcoming election will see the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and Ajit Pawar’s NCP competing against opposition parties, including the Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction.