Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019 | A look at some of key constituencies of the state

Mumbai | Jagran News Desk: Maharashtra, a state which is spread across 35 districts, has 288 assembly constituencies. In the 2014 Assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 122 seats and emerged as the single largest party in the state while the Shiv Sena clinched 66 seats and the Congress won 42 seats.

All the parties have released the list of candidates for the upcoming elections. The BJP will contest the elections along with Shiv Sena and as per the seat-sharing deal, the BJP will contest on 150 seats in the 288-member Assembly while the Shiv Sena will contest on 124 seats and the smaller allies will fight on the remaining 14 seats.

They will be challenged by the Congress-NCP coalition. Congress and the NCP have agreed to fight on 125 seats each.

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The parties have thrown their best candidates in all the constituencies to get the maximum number of seats.  

So, here is a look at some of the important constituencies and candidates contesting from there:

Karad South:

Karad South is one of the constituencies located in the Satara district. From here, Congress’ Prithviraj Chavan is contesting the elections. He will be challenged by Congress rebel UP Undalkar who is contesting as an independent candidate. It would be interesting to see whether the old warhorse of Congress will be able to continue his dominance or not.

Kagal:

In Kagal, BJP leader Samarjitsinh Ghatge has decided to contest independently. His decision comes on the heels of the Shiv Sena’s unilateral decision to officially nominate Sanjay Ghatge as the party’s candidate for the upcoming state elections. Ghatge will be facing Mushrif Hasan Miyalal of the NCP. 

Nandgaon:

Pankaj Bhujbal of NCP will be trying his luck in Nandgaon. He will be up against Shiv Sena’s Suhas Kande.

Chandgad:

Shiv Sena’s Sangram Kupeskar is the candidate who will be watched from Chandgad. He will be facing rebel BJP leader Ashok Charati who is contesting on a ticket from Jan Surjya Shakti Party (JSSP).

Solapur City Central:

Solapur City Central is located in Solapur district. Here former Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde’s daughter Praniti will be contesting on a Congress’ ticket. She will be up against Shiv Sena’s Dilip Mane.

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Kasba Peth:

In Kasba Peth, it will be a clash between old rivals. Here BJP’s Mukta Tilak will fight against Congress’ Arvind Shinde.

Kankavli:

Kankavli Vidhan Sabha constituency is located in the Sindhudurg district. It is a part of the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency. Here BJP’s Nitesh Rane will be contesting the elections. Nitesh is the younger son of the former chief minister and senior politician Narayan Rane. Nitesh will up against Satish Sawant of the Shiv Sena. In spite of the alliance between the two parties, they will face each other here as the Shiv Sena is strongly against Nitesh.  

Sawantwadi:

From Sawantwadi, Senior Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar will be contesting the elections. He was appointed Maharashtra's minister of state for Finance, Rural Development in December 2014. He will up against rebel BJP leader Ranjan Teli.

Barshi:

Senior Shiv Sena leader and sitting MLA, Dilip Sopal will be trying his luck from here. Sopal has been representing Barshi from 2009. He will be up against NCP's  Bhumkar Niranjan Prakash.

Islampur:

Former Maharashtra Cabinet minister, Jayant Patil (NCP) is standing from Islampur. Jayant will be fighting BJP’s Nishikant Patil here.

Radhanagari:

Shiv Sena’s Prakash Abitkar, sitting MLA from Radhanagari, is standing for the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance from here. He will be up against former BJP leader Arun Dongal.

Mangalvedha:

Rebel Congress leader Shivaji Kalunge, who is fighting from Mangalvedha against Bharat Bhelke of NCP.

Karmala:

Karmala is one of the eleven Vidhan Sabha constituencies located in the Solapur district. It covers the entire Karmala tehsil and part of the Madha tehsil of this district. Here Shiv Sena’s Rashmi Bagal will be facing rebel party leader Narayan Patil who is known as Aaba in the constituency. Patil is contesting as an independent candidate.  

Wai:

In the Wai consistency seat, Madan Bhosale has been fielded by the BJP. Earlier, this constituency was represented by Purushottam Jadhav who withdrew his name after discussions with party leaders. He will be up against NCP's Makrand Laxmanrao Jadhav. 

Jat:

Jat constituency is one of the eight Vidhan Sabha constituencies located in the Sangli district. It is part of the Sangli Lok Sabha constituency along with five other Vidhan Sabha segments in this district, namely Miraj, Sangli, Palus-Kadegaon, Tasgao-Kavathemahakal and Khanapur. Here BJP’s Vilasrao Jagtap will face Congress' Vikramsinh Balasaheb Sawant.

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Shirala:

Shirala is part of the Hatkanangale Lok Sabha constituency along with five other Vidhan Sabha segments. In Shirala, sitting MLA and BJP leader Shivaji Rao Naik will face rebel party leader Samrat Mahadik, who is an independent candidate.

Maan:

In Maan, turncoat leader Jaikumar Gore, who joined BJP, will face his own brother Shekhar Gore who is a rebel Shiv Sena candidate.

Dhule City:

In Dhule, rebel NCP leader Rajvardhan Kadambande (who will be contesting as an independent candidate) will face Shiv Sena’s Hilal Mali.

Aurangabad West:

In Aurangabad West, sitting MLA and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsath will face against former party leader Raju Shinde (independent). Shinde has been expelled from the party for ‘anti-party’ activities.

Karad North:

Karad North will see a contest between Shiv Sena’s Dhairyashil Kadam and rebel BJP leader Manoj Ghorpade.