Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan, senior Congressman Sushil Kumar Shinde and the BJP’s Pritam Munde are among those in the fray in the state in the second phase of polling of the Lok Sabha election 2019.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena have formed an alliance in Maharashtra, the second largest state after Uttar Pradesh in terms of the number of MPs it sends to the Lok Sabha, after an acrimonious relationship in the last five years. The BJP has decided to contest 25 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the Sena will contest 23.
Also read: Maharashtra all set for straight fight between two alliances
The Congress and Shard Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also have come back into an alliance after parting ways during the assembly elections. They are contesting on 26 and 22 seats respectively. They are banking on anti-incumbency against the government, apart from the uneasy ties the BJP and Sena have long shared.
The BJP-Sena combine had secured 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2014 election. After a bypoll loss, the BJP has 22 of the 48 seats, the Sena has 18, the Congress holds two, the NCP has 5, and one seat is held by the Swabhimaani Paksha.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP-Sena combine had secured 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2014 election. After a bypoll loss, the BJP has 22 of the 48 seats, the Sena has 18, the Congress holds two, the NCP has 5, and one seat is held by the Swabhimaani Paksha.
{{/usCountry}}Of the ten constituencies polling in the second phase on Thursday, six are in central Maharashtra or Marathwada, three in Vidarbha and one in the western region of the state. There are Akola, Amravati, Beed, Buldhana Hingoli, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Parbhani, and Solapur.
Maharashtra’s former chief minister Ashok Chavan is fighting from his family stronghold of Nanded against Sena MLA and BJP candidate Pratap Patil Chikhalikar.
Also read: Ashok Chavan’s challenge is in Marathwada
Sushil Kumar Shinde of the Congress is facing a tough battle in Solapur against BJP’s Jai Siddheshwar Shivacharya, a Lingayat seer, and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidate Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. VBA is an alliance of Ambedkar-led Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh and Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
Shinde has represented the seat multiple times though he was defeated by BJP nominee in 2014.
Also read: Shivacharya swami holds edge over Shinde, Ambedkar in Solapur
The BJP’s sitting MP Pritam Munde is facing NCP leader Bajrang Sonawane, who is supported by Pritam’s cousin and leader of opposition in legislative council Dhananjay Munde, in Beed Lok Sabha seat.
Also read: Munde cousins slug it out in Beed
In Akola, the three-time sitting member of Parliament Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre of the BJP and Congress leader Hidayat Patel are against each other once again. Prakash Ambedkar is also contesting from the Akola Lok Sabha seat as a VBA candidate.
Also read: All about Akola constituency in Maharashtra
Amravati is witnessing a fight between Sena heavyweight and two-time MP Anandrao Adsul and Navneet Kaur Rana for the second time. Rana is a former Telugu film actor and Yuva Swabhimani Paksha (YSP) candidate, who has support from the Congress, NCP and Republican Party of India (RPI) led by Rajendra Gavai.
Also read: Rana versus Adsul, the big fight in Maharashtra’s Amravati
Two-time Shiv Sena lawmaker Prataprao Jadhav is up against Rajendra Shingane of the NCP in the Buldhana Lok Sabha seat.
The Congress’ Subhash Wankhede and Sena leader Hemant Patil are in the fray in Hingoli, one of the constituencies other than Nanded that the grand old party had won in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
Lok Sabha elections 2019: Hingoli constituency in Maharashtra
In Latur, Congress leader Machhlindra Kamant will try to regain the former citadel now held by the ruling party. The BJP has fielded Sudhakar Bhalerao Shrungare in Latur
In Latur, two political heirs battle to wrest control
In Osmanabad, NCP’s sitting MLA Rana Jagjitsinh Patil is facing his cousin, Omraje Nimbalkar of the Shiv Sena. The cousins have been facing each other in the past two assembly elections. Rana Jagjitsinh Patil’s father and former state minister Padmasinh Patil is facing charges of murder of Omraje’s father Pawanraje Nimbalkar.
Also read: Warring cousins from both sides of a murder battle it out in Osmanabad
Sanjay Jadhav of the Sena is contesting against NCP’s Rajesh Vitekar in Parbhani, a bastion of Uddhav Thackeray’s party.
Lok Sabha elections 2019: Parbhani in Maharashtra is a Shiv Sena bastion
The votes will be counted on May 23.