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The discourse across the eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra that are scheduled to vote in the second phase on April 26 is witnessing a shift, with a shuffle in traditional caste equations, the rise of the vocal rural voter and the dominance of local factors.
Entrusted with ensuring the victory of the BJP candidate in the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency, his home turf, the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan has been campaigning for Prataprao Govindrao Chikhalikar Patil like it is his own election. The former chief minister and state Congress heavyweight, Chavan, who switched to the BJP in February, is making attempts to offset “anti-incumbency” against Chikhalikar Patil, who had defeated him in the2019 polls when he contested the seat as a Congress nominee.
After months of back and forth, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Opposition alliance in Maharashtra on Tuesday announced a seat-sharing arrangement for the Lok Sabha elections. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) will contest 21 of the 48 constituencies in the state, the Congress 17, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) will contest 10 constituencies.
After protracted talks, seat-sharing among Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition partners broke into open rift on Wednesday, as the Shiv Sena (UBT) went ahead and announced 17 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, including for seats coveted by the Congress.
As the Congress announced its second list of candidates on Tuesday, there were no names from Maharashtra. With the Lok Sabha poll schedule expected to be announced in a few days, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is still struggling to wrap up seat-sharing allegedly because of a lack of coordination between the Congress and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
When the Maharashtra government on Wednesday appointed Siddhesh Kadam (41) as the new chairperson of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is likely to have breathed a sigh of relief at having resolved the infighting between former state minister Ramdas Kadam (70) and Mumbai North-West MP Gajanan Kirtikar (80).
Seat-sharing talks in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have stalled over eight of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. Despite several meetings and claims, the Opposition alliance’s members who are part of the INDIA alliance nationally have not yet been able to settle on a seat-sharing arrangement for these seats.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole addresses the charge by some quarters that Ashok Chavan and other departures from the party have happened due to him. Claiming that the Congress’s voter base has not shifted despite its leaders moving to other parties, Patole also asserted that the party will win the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. Excerpts from an interview: