Congress Releases 1st List of 48 Candidates for Maharashtra Polls, Fields THESE Key Leaders

The Congress Party on Thursday revealed its first list of 48 candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, fielding some of its most prominent leaders. Among those named are Nana Patole, the state unit chief, who will contest from Sakoli, and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who will represent Karad South. Vijay Wadettiwar, the Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, will contest from Brahmapuri.

In addition, former ministers Nitin Raut and Balasaheb Thorat have been fielded from Nagpur North and Sangamner, respectively. Other key candidates include Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad from Dharavi, Amit Deshmukh from Latur City, and Dheeraj Deshmukh from Latur Rural. The party has also fielded Mohammad Aarif Naseem Khan from Chandivali, Aslam Sheikh from Malad West, Ranjit Kamble from Deoli, and Vikas Thakre from Nagpur West.

The announcement comes a day after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)—a coalition of the Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction)—announced that they will contest 85 seats each in the November 20 polls. However, discussions on the remaining 33 seats are still ongoing.

Sanjay Raut, MP of Shiv Sena (UBT), addressed a press conference, affirming the MVA's unity in the upcoming elections. "We have amicably reached a consensus on 270 of the 288 seats. Discussions are ongoing for the remaining seats, and we will include smaller parties like the Samajwadi Party, PWP, CPI(M), CPI, and AAP," Raut said.

He reiterated the MVA's commitment to defeating the Mahayuti government, which is led by the alliance of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, the BJP, and Ajit Pawar's NCP.

Nana Patole, Congress’s Maharashtra chief, also commented on the ongoing seat-sharing discussions. "The remaining seats will be allocated to smaller parties," Patole said, reflecting the MVA’s focus on inclusivity and unity.

Elections for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will take place in a single phase on November 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23, just a day before the current Assembly’s term concludes.