Maharashtra Elections 2024: 50 rebels in fray – Mahayuti, MVA race against time to contain damage

The ruling Mahayuti accounts for around three-fourths of the 50 rebel candidates to have filed nominations in Maharashtra. (File Photo: ANI)

Days after the deadline for filing nominations for the Maharashtra elections ended, the ruling Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi are racing against time to contain a worrying factor that could potentially weaken their electoral prospects.

Their cause of concern — a staggering 50 candidates who were denied tickets and have gone ahead and filed their nominations as Independents. Their presence in the electoral fray has the potential to eat into the votes of either side and end up benefiting the competitors.

The ruling Mahayuti has a majority among the 50-odd rebel candidates in fray. BJP has the biggest share of 19 dissidents, followed by 16 from the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and one from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

In the MVA, most among the 14 rebels are from the Congress (10) and the rest are from the Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray. These rebels are in addition to the candidates from the alliance partners who have filed nominations in the constituencies of Kurla, South Solapur, Paranda, Sangola, and Pandharpur.

In some cases, the rebels have also got their family members to file nominations.

The Maharashtra elections, where the stakes are higher than ever for each constituent on either side of the political divide, any potential threat could prove decisive in seats where the contests are close.

All affected parties are now racing against time and reaching out to the rebel candidates to withdraw their candidature ahead of the November 4 deadline set by the Election Commission.

“We are a big party and we have many leaders who aspired to contest. But in coalition, we have certain limits and we can not accommodate everyone. But we will speak to them (rebels) and convince them. We are sure that they will understand and withdraw their nominations,” BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said, adding that there could be friendly fights in some constituencies.

Notably, nine rebels from CM Shinde’s Shiv Sena are contesting in constituencies where the BJP has fielded candidates. These include seats such as Airoli in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai’s Andheri East where former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma’s wife and daughter have filed nominations, Pachora in Jalgaon district, and Belapur in Thane district, reports The Indian Express.

On the other hand, 10 BJP rebels are up against the Sena in seats allotted to them, including Alibaug, Karjat, Buldhana, Borivali and Jalna. BJP rebels are up against the NCP in nine seats while Shiv Sena rebels are contesting in seven seats given to Ajit Pawar’s party.

In the MVA, the Congress has four rebels going up against the alliance candidates in seats such as Kopri Pachpakhadi, Byculla, and Ramtek. The Sena (UBT) has rebels in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar in Mumbai Suburban, where the SP state chief Abu Azmi is the candidate; Versaova in Mumbai Suburban district, and Mehkar in Buldhana district.

Polling for the Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held in a single phase on November 20 while the results will be declared on November 23.