The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday announced its first list of 125 candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. It has fielded Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from Nagpur South West.
Elections to the 288-seat legislature will be held on October 21, and the results will declared three days later. The BJP’s main ally is the Shiv Sena. The Republican Party of India (Athawale), the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, the Shiv Sangram Sanghatana and the Rayat Kranti Sena are the other members of the alliance.
BJP’s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil will contest from Kothrud in Pune. Congress rebels Harshwardhan Patil and Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil will contest from Indapur and Shirdi constituencies. The list also has 12 women candidates. The saffron party has dropped 12 MLAs and given tickets to 52 legislators, according to India Today. The names of senior leaders such as Vindod Tawde and Eknath Khadse, however, have not yet been announced.
In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, and the Shiv Sena 63. The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance is the main Opposition group.
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