The Congress party is gearing up for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, with plans to release its first list of candidates on October 20, following a crucial Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting. This decision comes as part of the party’s preparations for the state polls, with discussions in full swing among key Congress leaders.
The Maharashtra Election Screening Committee held a meeting in Delhi at Himachal Bhawan on Wednesday to finalize its strategy. The meeting was attended by several top leaders, including the party’s state in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole, senior leader Balasaheb Thorat, Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, and Satej Patil.
Following the meeting, Chennithala confirmed that the final candidate list would be decided on October 20. “We will have one more meeting on 20th October and everything will be finalized,” he stated. “CEC meeting is on 20th October.”
Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad echoed this, saying that the candidate discussions were ongoing and would be concluded after the CEC meeting. “Discussion is underway, on 20th (October) also there will be discussions, and then we will let you know,” she added.
The Congress party’s rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has also been holding its own Central Committee meetings in the national capital, focusing on over 100 seats. The BJP is expected to finalize its candidate list after seat-sharing talks with its alliance partners in the Mahayuti government, which includes the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.
In addition, Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) has released its third list of candidates, adding 30 more names for the upcoming elections.
The Election Commission of India has scheduled the Maharashtra legislative assembly elections for November 20, with results to be declared on November 23. The elections will see a fierce contest between the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Shiv Sena (UBT).
This election promises to be a pivotal moment in Maharashtra’s political landscape, with all parties vying for power in the 288-member legislative assembly.