The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of 99 candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, focusing heavily on Western Maharashtra and Pune districts. The list features 21 candidates from Western Maharashtra and 6 from Pune district.
Key Highlights:
- Western Maharashtra Candidates:
- The BJP retained 14 sitting MLAs out of 21 seats in the region.
- New candidates or relatives of party leaders were fielded in the remaining 7 constituencies.
- In Chinchwad, Shankar Jagtap, the brother-in-law of current MLA Ashwini Jagtap, was chosen as a new face. Party leadership reportedly urged Ashwini to step aside for Shankar, who is the BJP president of Pimpri-Chinchwad.
- Pune District:
- Prominent candidates include:
- Siddharth Shirole (Shivajinagar)
- Chandrakant Patil, a cabinet minister (Kothrud)
- Madhuri Misal (Parvati)
- Shankar Jagtap (Chinchwad)
- Mahesh Landge (Bhosari)
- Rahul Kul (Daund)
- Notable Retentions and New Faces:
- Chandrakant Patil will run from Kothrud, a BJP stronghold, defeating ticket-seekers like Amol Balwadkar.
- Madhuri Misal has been fielded in Parvati for the fourth time.
- In Daund, Rahul Kul, who is close to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, has been retained.
- Mahesh Landge, a wrestler and sitting MLA, has been retained for Bhosari.
- Challenges Ahead:
- Political analysts note that candidates like Siddharth Shirole (Shivajinagar) face tough re-election battles due to discontent among party members and the narrow margin from the previous election.
- Other Districts:
- In Solapur, the BJP retained Vijaykumar Deshmukh (Solapur North), Sachin Kalyanshetti (Akkalkot), and Subhash Deshmukh (Solapur South).
- In Satara, candidates like Jaykumar Gore (Man) and Chhatrapati Shivendra Sinhraje Bhosale (Satara) were given another chance.
- In Kolhapur, Amal Mahadik will try to reclaim his seat in Kolhapur South, while Rahul Awade (son of MLA Prakash Awade) was fielded in Ichalkaranji after recently joining the BJP.
- In Sangli, despite expressing reluctance, Sudhir Gadgil will run from Sangli due to the party’s inability to find a strong alternative.
Strategy Overview:
The BJP is playing it safe in many constituencies by sticking to incumbent MLAs and familiar candidates in seats where they hold a strong position. For more competitive constituencies, the party is expected to announce additional candidates soon, factoring in the political climate and local dynamics.
