Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Eknath Shinde, Vijay Wadettiwar stage show of strength amid filing nomination papers

Thane/ Chandraupur: Hours before nomination draws to a close the ruling Maha Yuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Monday excused confidence of crossing the magic figure of 145 even as top politicians including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar filed their papers.

The last date of filing of nominations is on Tuesday for the 20 November polling for electing the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

In Thane, Shinde filed his nomination papers for Kopri-Pachpakhadi, where he is seeking reelection for the fifth time.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the architect of the BJP-led alliance government, too joined in for Shinde’s roadshow.

NCP’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar filed nomination papers from Baramati, where he is pitted against his nephew Yugendra Pawar, who has been fielded by Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).

The Thane road show - after Shinde paid tributes to late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and his mentor Anand Dighe, generated a huge crowd.

Shinde, the chief leader of Shiv Sena, is being challenged by Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Kedar Dighe, who is the nephew of Anand Dighe.

“Thane always was saffron and it will remain the same. Shinde will win the election with record votes, he will break his own record. Thane will be with Maha Yuti,” said Fadnavis.

In Brahmapuri, Wadettiwar staged a massive show of strength where former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bagel was present.

Meanwhile, in Sindhudurg, former Chief Minister Narayan Rane, who is a BJP MP, said that Maha Yuti will win comfortably. “I am confident that we would cross 160 seats,” said Rane whose two sons Nilesh (Shiv Sena) and Nitesh (BJP) are contesting the Kudal and Kankavli seats, respectively.

In Baramati, Sharad Pawar assured that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government would be in place.

“I have toured almost all the districts in the past few months. In the 2024 Lok Sabha, the people supported Maha Vikas Aghadi in a big way. MVA won 31 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, and I am grateful to the people from the bottom of my heart,” he said, adding: “I have full faith in the people. We have kept up the tempo of the Lok Sabha elections even for the Assembly polls.”

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.

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