Mumbai, 05 November 2024: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray expelled five rebel leaders on Tuesday for refusing to withdraw nominations submitted for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections. The ousted leaders include Bhiwandi East MLA Rupesh Mhatre, along with Vishwas Nandekar, Chandrakant Ghugul, Sanjay Awari, and Prasad Thackeray.
A total of 14 candidates from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance—comprised of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s NCP—defied party directives by filing nominations. Congress member Mukhtar Shaikh, who initially contested from Pune’s Kasba Peth, was among those withdrawing by the Monday deadline, declaring support for Congress’s official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.
In Kolhapur North, Congress faced a significant setback when royal descendant Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati pulled out just before the deadline, leaving the party without a candidate in one of its strongholds in western Maharashtra. Chhatrapati had been nominated after supporters vandalized a party office opposing former corporator Rajesh Latkar’s candidacy.
Seven Congress rebels, including Hemalata Patil (Nashik Central), Madhu Chavan (Byculla), and Vishwanath Walvi (Nandurbar), withdrew their nominations. Only two NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) rebels remain in the race.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange also withdrew, stating, “The Maratha community will decide on its own whom to defeat and whom to elect.” Jarange, who has led hunger strikes demanding Maratha reservation, announced support for two undisclosed candidates from Parvati and Daund.
Following the withdrawals, 4,140 candidates are set to compete for Maharashtra’s 288 assembly seats, with 2,938 candidates backing out. This year’s figures reflect a 28% increase from the 3,239 candidates in 2019.
The upcoming elections mark the first for major regional parties, NCP and Shiv Sena, following internal splits. Factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar have allied with the BJP to form the Mahayuti coalition.
In the last assembly polls in 2019, the BJP secured 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. The election on November 20 will determine representation across 288 constituencies, with results to be announced on November 23.
