Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde
Credit: PTI Photos
Mumbai: In the high-stakes Maharashtra polls, the Shiv Sena headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) headed by Uddhav Thackeray will witness a direct contest in 53 places of the total 288 seats in the state.
Majority of the clashes would be witnessed in the Mumbai-Konkan coastal belt and Marathwada region where they are in direct contest in 38 places.
The polls will decide which is the original Shiv Sena -- the one commanded by Shinde or the one controlled by Thackeray, the son of late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
The Shiv Sena has seen several leaders quitting -- Chhagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray, but the rebellion by Shinde, who was mentored by late Anand Dighe, has hit the party most.
The Mumbai and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the coastal Konkan seat would see a direct contest in 27 places, followed by Marathwada (11), Vidarbha (6), North Maharashtra (5) and Western Maharashtra (4).
The most interesting of the contests would be in Kopri-Pachpakhadi in Thane city, where Shinde would take on Dighe’s nephew Kedar Dighe, who has been pitted by Shiv Sena (UBT).
Incidentally, Shinde and Thackeray are key leaders of Maha Yuti (NDA) and Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.) opposition bloc, respectively.
The 11 Mumbai seats involving direct contests are Byculla, Mahim, Worli, Andheri East, Jogeshwari East, Dindoshi, Magathane, Bhandup West, Vikhroli, Kurla and Chembur.
The nine MMR seats are Kopri-Pachpakadi, Owla-Majiwada, Kalyan Rural, Kalyan West, Bhiwandi Rural, Ambernath, Palghar, Karjat and Alibaug.
The seven Konkan seats are Mahad, Dapoli, Guhagar, Ratnagiri, Rajapur, Kudal and Sawantwadi.
The 11 Marathwada seats are Aurangabad Central, Aurangabad West, Vaijapur, Paithan, Kannada, Sillod, Parbhani, Kalamnuri, Osmanabad, Paranda, Umarga.
The six Vidarbha seats are Ramtek, Balapur, Daryapur, Digras, Mehekar, Buldhana.
The five North Maharashtra seats are Newasa, Nandgaon, Malegaon Outer, Pachora and Chopada.
The four Western Maharashtra seats are Sangola, Barshi, Radhanagari, Patan.
In the Lok Sabha polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) won nine seats after contesting 21 seats while Shiv Sena (ES) won seven seats contesting 15 seats.
Balasaheb Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena on June 19, 1966 for the cause of Marathi-manoos and later adopted the cause of Hindutva.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.