Maharashtra Assembly election 2024: BJP contesting most seats in Marathwada

The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP is contesting on the most number of seats mdash 20 of 46 mdash in the Marathwada region in the Maharashtra Assembly election 2024 news agency PTI reportedThe region in Central Maharashtra comprises the districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Beed Hingoli Jalna Latur Nanded Osmanabad and Parbhani It has been the epicentre of the Maratha protests steered by activist Manoj JarangeThe Mahayuti mdash comprising the BJP Shiv Sena and Deputy CM Ajit Pawarled Nationalist Congress Party NCP could win only one of the eight seats in Marathwada in the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this yearThe Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister CM Eknath Shinde has fielded candidates in 16 constituencies in this region Five ministers from Shindes cabinet have been given tickets in the regionNCP has nominated nine candidates in Marathwada for the Maharashtra Assembly election 2024 The party has not fielded any candidate in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Jalna and Dharashiv districts while the Shiv Sena will not be contesting any seats in Beed and Latur PTI reportedThe Mahayuti has given the Gangakhed seat in the region to Mahadev Jankars Rashtriya Samaj Paksha which has fielded Ratnakar GutteAmong the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA parties the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray has named 16 candidates from the region These include the Sillod Kannad Vaijapur Aurangabad Central Aurangabad West and Paithan seats in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district Five of the six leaders from the undivided Shiv Sena who had won in the district in 2019 sided with CM Shinde when he had rebelled against the Thackerayled party in 2022Meanwhile Sena UBT is not contesting in any constituency in the Beed districtThe other two MVA partners NCP Sharadchandra Pawar and Congress each have got 15 seats to contest in Marathdwada PTI reportedNCP SP has at least one candidate in all eight districts of Maharashtra while the Congress is not in the fray in the Beed and Hingoli districtsThe candidates in MarathwadaMinister Abdul Sattar will fight on a Shiv Sena ticket against Suresh Bankar who recently joined Sena UBT from BJP in SillodMeanwhile Housing Minister Atul Save who is from BJP is pitted against All India MajliseIttehadul Muslimeens AIMIM former Member of Parliament MP Imtiaz Jaleel and Lahu Shevale of Congress in the Aurangabad East constituencyIn the Parli seat of Beed district Minister Dhananjay Munde who will be representing NCP will be pitted against Rajesaheb Deshmukh of NCP SPAnother minister Tanaji Sawant of Shiv Sena is locked in a threecornered fight in Paranda seat in Dharashiv district where NCP SP has fieded Rahul Mote and its MVA partner Sena UBT has nominated Ranjit PatilIn Latur districts Udgir NCP Minister Sanjay Bansode will take on Sudhakar Bhalerao of NCP SPThe Maharashtra Assembly election will be held on November 20 on all 288 seats and the votes will be counted three days later