Maharashtra Assembly elections: Former UP Governor Ram Naik casts vote

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 20 (ANI): Former Uttar Pradesh Governor and BJP leader Ram Naik cast his vote in the Maharashtra Assembly polls on Wednesday.

After casting his vote, Naik asserted that BJP candidate Vidya Thakur will be elected from the seat (Goregaon).

“I cast my vote in every election. Looking at the atmosphere of the last few months, I feel that Vidya Thakur (BJP candidate) will be elected from here,” he said.

On the Goregaon seat, sitting MLA from the BJP, Vidya Thakur is in contest against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sameer Desai. The seat has been seen as a stronghold of both, the BJP and Shiv Sena.

Meanwhile, voting began at 7 am on Wednesday for the single-phase of Maharashtra assembly elections and will conclude at 6 pm. Polling is taking place across 288 assembly constituencies.

A total of 4,136 candidates are contesting the elections, including 2,086 independents. The BJP is contesting 149 seats, Shiv Sena 81, and the NCP 59. The Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) 86. The BSP is contesting 237 seats, while other smaller parties are also in the fray. The state has approximately 9.7 crore registered voters.

Shifting alliances, ideological conflicts, complex caste dynamics, and emotional appeals have characterised the battle for power in the Maharashtra Assembly. The primary contest is between the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance includes the BJP, Shiv Sena, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction), while the opposition MVA comprises the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and the Congress won 44. In 2014, the BJP claimed 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.