Maharashtra Polls: CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP’s Ajit Pawar File Nominations

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar were among the prominent Maharashtra candidates who filed nominations for the October 21 Assembly polls on Friday, the last day to submit the papers. Fadnavis, the first BJP chief minister of the state, filed his papers from the Nagpur South-West constituency. He was accompanied by Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra minister and state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil.

Fadnavis is being challenged by Congress’s Ashish Deshmukh from the seat.

Pawar filed nomination from the Baramati segment he currently represents in the assembly. The former Maharashtra deputy chief minister is pitted against BJP’s Gopichand Padalkar in Baramati in Pune district.

The last date of filing nomination papers is October 4, while the date for their scrutiny is October 5. Nominations can be withdrawn till October 7. The result of the election to the 288-seat Assembly will be out on October 24.

Earlier in the day, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its fourth list of seven candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls. BJP has announced tickets to Rohini Khadse from Muktainagar, Sunil Rane from Borivali, Rahul Narvekar from Colaba, Parag Shah from Ghatkopar East, Pradeep Padole from Tumsar, Charan Singh Thakur from Katol and Rahul Dhikale from Nashik East seats. While the list features only seven names, it is quite significant as it confirms four BJP stalwarts and sitting MLAs in the state- Eknath Khadse, Prakash Mehta, Raj Purohit and Vinod Tawade - will not get the ticket this time. 

With this, the BJP has announced candidates for 150 seats. With less than 24 hours to go for the filing of nominations to end, 95 of these candidates had filed their papers till Thursday evening. BJP will contest 162 seats and the Shiv Sena 126, according to the seat-sharing formula for the October 21 assembly elections.