Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) released their first list of 38 candidates on Wednesday for the Maharashtra Assembly.
Deputy chief minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar will be contesting from the Baramati assembly constituency.
Other candidates in the fray are Chhagan Bhujbal (Yeola), Dilip Walse Patil (Ambegaon).
The party has also given a ticket to Hiraman Khoskar to contest from Igatpuri and Shulbha Khodke from Amravati, both of them are former Congress MLAs who joined the NCP (Ajit Pawar) recently. Khodke was expelled from the Congress on October 12. Khoskar joined the party on the night of October 14.
Earlier, Eknath Shinde led Shiv Shinde also released its first list of candidates 45 candidates for the upcoming assembly polls. Eknath Shinde will contest from Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly constituency.
Other candidates included in the list are Manisha Ravindra Waykar from Jogeshwari (East), Suhas Dwarkanath Kande from Nandgao, Pradip Shivnarayan Jaiswal from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (middle) and Balaji Devidasrao Kalyankar from Nanded North.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also exuded confidence in Mahayuti alliance winning the elections.
“This is the first list (of candidates for Maharashtra Assembly election), next 2nd list will come, we will then contest the elections, then Mahayuti will win with a big majority,” Shinde said.
The third party in the MahaYuti alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party also released its first list of 99 candidates. As per the list, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will contest from Nagpur South West, while state BJP president Chandrashekhar Krishnarao Bawankule will contest from the Kamthi seat.
As the polling date draws near, both the ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP alongside the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress are preparing in full swing.