The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of 99 candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra. Senior BJP leader and state deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has been fielded from Nagpur South constituency. Shrijaya Chavan, daughter of BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Chavan, has been nominated as a candidate for the Bhokar seat.

The list also features notable figures such as Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, along with key ministers Girish Mahajan, Sudhir Mungantiwar, and Atul Save.

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BJP Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar is in the fray from Vandre West, while state minister Chandrakant Patil will contest from Kothrud. Ashish Shelar’s brother has also secured a ticket and will run from Malad West. Subhash Deshmukh has been fielded as the BJP candidate in Solapur and Nitesh Rane, son of veteran leader and former Union Minister Narayan Rane, will contest from Kankavli.

The saffron party’s list includes 13 women candidates, along with six candidates from Scheduled Tribes and four from Scheduled Castes.

Notably, the BJP is the part of Mahayuti government, with Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP as parts of the coalition. It is contesting 151 out of the 288 seats in Maharashtra. 

In the 2019 elections, the BJP secured 105 seats, while the Shiv Sena (then united under the Uddhav Thackeray-Eknath Shinde faction) won 56, and the Congress obtained 44.

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The Election Commission (EC) announced that the nomination filing date in Maharashtra is set for October 22, with the last date being October 29. The final date for withdrawing nominations is November 4, while voting will take place on November 20, and the results will be declared on November 23.