Mumbai: With the declaration of nominees by MahaYuti, MahaVikas Aghadi and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, the picture is clear about the contest in 33 of the total 48 constituencies in Maharashtra.
However, in 15 seats there is still no clarity as MahaYuti has yet to announce nominees in 8 seats and Maha Vikas Aghadi in 5 seats.
In Satara and North Central Mumbai, both sides have yet to zero in on their nominees. Further, in 13 constituencies, so far one nominee has been announced by political parties.
The polling in 5 seats from East Vidarbha is slated for April 19, in 8 seats from western Vidarbha and Marathwada on April 26, in 11 seats on May 7, in 11 seats on May 13 and in 13 seats on May 20.
The 33 constituencies include North East Mumbai where the fight is between BJP nominee Mihir Kotecha and Shiv Sena UBT nominee Sanjay Patil, in South Central Mumbai Shiv Sena nominee Rahul Shewale vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Anil Desai, in Shirdi Shiv Sena nominee Sadashiv Lokhande vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Bhausaheb Waghchaure, in Dindori BJP nominee Bharati Pawar vs NCP SP nominee Bhaskar Bhagre, in Jalgaon BJP nominee Smita Wagh vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Karan Pawar.
In the tribal-dominated Nandurbar, BJP nominee Hina Gavit will take on Congress nominee Gopal Padvi, in Maval Shiv Sena nominee Shrirang Barne vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Sanjoy Waghre, in Shirur NCP Ajit Pawar nominee Shivajirao Adhalrao vs NCP SP nominee Amol Kolhe, in Baramati NCP SP nominee Supriya Sule vs NCP Ajit Pawar nominee Sunetra Pawar and in Pune BJP nominee Muralidhar Mohol vs Congress nominee Ravindra Dhangekar.
In the sugarcane-rich Ahmednagar seat, BJP nominee Sujay Vikhe-Patil is in the race against NCP SP nominee Nilesh Lanke, in Kolhapur the Congress nominee Shrimant Shahu Maharaj vs Shiv Sena nominee Sanjay Mandlik, in Hatkanangale Shiv Sena nominee Dhairyasheel Mane vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Satyajeet Patil, in Sangli BJP nominee Sanjaykaka Patil vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Chandrahar Patil, in Solapur the Congress nominee Praniti Shinde vs BJP nominee Ram Satpute and in Raigad the NCP Ajit Pawar nominee Sunil Tatkare vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Ananta Gite.
Moreover, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar is pitted against BJP nominee Anup Dhotre and Congress candidate Abhay Patil in Akola constituency.
In Buldhana the fight is between the Shiv Sena nominee Prataprao Jadhav and Shiv Sena UBT nominee Narendra Khedekar, in Amravati BJP nominee Navneet Rana vs Congress nominee Balwant Wankhede, in Wardha BJP nominee Ramdas Tadas vs NCP SP nominee Amar Kale, in Ramtek Shiv Sena nominee Raju Parwe vs Congress nominee Shyamkumar Barve, in Chandrapur BJP nominee Sudhir Mungantiwar vs Congress nominee Pratibha Dhanorkar.
In Nagpur BJP nominee Nitin Gadkari vs Congress nominee Vikas Thakre, in Bhandara Gondiya BJP nominee Sunil Mendhe vs Congress nominee Prashant Patole, in Gadchiroli-Chimur BJP nominee Ashok Nete vs Congress nominee Namdev Kirsan and in Yavatmal Washim Shiv Sena UBT nominee Sanjay Deshmukh vs Shiv Sena nominee Rajashare Patil.
In the Marathwada region, BJP nominee Pankaja Munde will take on NCP SP nominee Bajrang Sonawane, in Dharashiv Shiv Sena UBT nominee Omraje Nimbalkar vs NCP Ajit Pawar nominee Archana Patil, in Parbhani Rashtriya Samaj Paksha founder Mahadev Jankar vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Sanjay Jadhav, in Nanded BJP nominee Pratap Chikhalikar vs Congress nominee Vasant Chavan, in Latur BJP nominee Sudhakar Shrungare vs Congress nominee Shivajirao Kalge and in Hingoli Shiv Sena nominee Baburao Kadam Kohalikar vs Shiv Sena UBT nominee Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar.
Of the 33 seats, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will be pitted against Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray in Kalyan, Hatkanangale, Maval, Hingoli, Buldhana and South Mumbai while.
In Baramati and Shirur Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions will take on each other.
The 13 seats where one each nominee has been so far announced included Sambhajinagar (Chandrakant Khaire), North West Mumbai (Amol Kirtikar), South Mumbai (Arvind Sawant), Nashik (Rajabhau Waje), Ratnagiri Sindhudurg (Vinayak Raut), Rajan Vichare (Thane), Vaishali Darekar (Kalyan) and Palghar (Bharati Kamdi).
These all candidates are from Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray. The MahaYuti partners have yet to announce their nominees in these constituencies.
BJP has declared nominations in Dhule (Subhash Bhamre), Raosaheb Danve (Jalna), Ranjitsinh Nimbekar (Madha), Piyush Goyal (North Mumbai) and Raver (Raksha Khadse).
Incidentally, the MVA partners have yet to announce its nominees in these seats.
–IANS