Maharashtra Polls: BJP Releases 2nd List Of 22 Candidates, Drops Two MLAs

Maharashtra Polls: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its second list of 22 candidates for the Maharashtra assembly elections on Saturday. This list includes six sitting MLAs, while two incumbents have been excluded. As part of the ruling Mahayuti coalition, which also includes the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the BJP has now declared candidates for a total of 121 constituencies. 

In its second candidate list for the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) replaced sitting MLAs from Washim and Gadchiroli, while retaining those from Akot, Nashik Central, Pen, Khadakwasala, Pune Cantonment, and Ulhasnagar. The list also includes two legislative council members: Gopichand Padalkar, who will contest from Jat, and Ramesh Karad, who is set to challenge Congress' Dhiraj Deshmukh in Latur Rural. 

BJP releases the second list of 22 candidates for the #MaharashtraElection2024.

Elections in Maharashtra will be held on November 20, while the counting of votes will take place on November 23. pic.twitter.com/Vk9LgHaSom — ANI (@ANI) October 26, 2024

The second candidate list features seven sitting MLAs: Prakash Bharsakale from Akot, Devayani Pharande from Nashik Central, Kumar Ayalani from Ulhasnagar, Ravindra Patil from Pen, Bhimrao Tapkir from Khadakwasla, Sunil Kamble from Pune Cantonment, and Samadhan Autade from Pandharpur.

Among the three Mahayuti alliance partners, both the BJP and Ajit Pawar's NCP have released two lists of candidates, while Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena has issued one list to date.

The state's 288-member assembly will go to the polls on November 20 with the counting and results scheduled on November 23.