Devendra Fadnavis, Chandrashekhar Bawankule in BJP’s first list for Maharashtra

The BJP on Sunday released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule are among the 99 candidates named by the party.
While Devendra Fadnavis will contest from Nagpur South West seat, Bawankule has been fielded from Kamthi.
Other prominent leaders named in the list include Ram Kadam from Ghatkopar West, Shweta Mahale Patil from Chikli, Sreejaya Ashok Chavan from Bhokar, Nitish Rane from Kankavli, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil from Shirdi, Chandrakant Patil from Kothrud, Ashish Shelar from Vandre West, and ex-Union Minister Raosaheb Danve’s son Santosh from Bhokardan.
Sreejaya is the daughter of the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who quit the Congress and joined BJP in February this year.
Out of 99 names in first list, 89 sitting MLAs have been repeated. Out of the remaining 10 seats, five candidates have been repeated from the 2019 Assembly polls.
Most of the candidates are from the OBC, Maratha and Adivasi communities which forms the traditional vote bank of BJP.
Kamthi MLA Tekchand Savarkar, who called ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’ a gamble for votes, did not find a place in the list. In his place, Chandrashekhar Bawankule will contest from Kamthi.
Bawankule, who represented Kamthi seat from 2004-2014, was dropped by the BJP in the 2019 election, which impacted Teli community votes for the party.
Another sitting MLA, Ashwini Jagtap, has been denied a ticket from Chinchwad. In his place, his brother-in-law Shankar Jagtap was fielded.
There were rumours that Ashwini Jagtap would join Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction after opposition from local BJP cadre
The BJP has released the names of 14 sitting candidates out of total 36 seats in Mumbai. In the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP won 17 seats in Mumbai.
However, three sitting MLAs from Mumbai have not been announced in the first list. They are Parag Shah (Ghatkopar East), Bharti Lavekar (Versova), and Sunil Rane (Borivali).
Also, Ram Satpute, sitting MLA from Solapur, who contested Lok Sabha polls against incumbent Congress MP Praniti Shinde, is the only name from western Maharashtra who has not been announced in the first list.
The election to the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will be held in a single phase on November 20, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. The counting of votes will be held on November 23.
The BJP, which is in alliance with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, is coming fresh off the victory in Haryana, where it turned the tables on Congress.