Mumbai: The Election Commission has officially announced that voting for the Maharashtra Assembly elections will take place on 20 November, covering all 288 constituencies in a single phase. This announcement has intensified political activities in the state as parties prepare for the upcoming polls.
In this context, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition has reached an agreement on 220 seats among its members. The coalition, comprising Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), is currently in the process of selecting candidates for these constituencies.
The MVA is expected to solidify agreements on the remaining seats soon. A meeting of the Congress Screening Committee is scheduled for Wednesday at the party headquarters in Delhi, where the selection of candidates will be a key focus. Reports suggest that Congress plans to contest between 105 to 110 seats independently, indicating a collaborative yet competitive approach within the alliance.
Political sentiments within the Congress suggest a wave of support for the MVA, which is campaigning to protect Maharashtra from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Congress leader Naseem Khan stated that the party has strong candidates for every seat, with a list of nominees soon to be submitted to the Congress election committee.
The announcement of the election dates has also sparked reactions from opposition parties, which have voiced concerns about the limited timeframe provided by the Election Commission for candidate selection and campaigning. Opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar noted that while political parties typically receive about 40 days for preparations, this time frame has been reduced to just 35 days, potentially impacting their election strategies.