Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday expelled five rebel leaders for anti-party activities after they failed to withdraw nominations filed for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.
The leaders include Bhiwandi East MLA Rupesh Mhatre, Vishwas Nandekar, Chandrakant Ghugul, Sanjay Awari and Prasad Thackeray.
From the Maha Vikas Aghadi - comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's NCP - 14 leaders had filed nominations, defying party command. Among those who withdrew their nominations by the Monday deadline was Congress' Mukhtar Shaikh, who withdrew from the Kasba Peth assembly constituency in Pune and announced his support to the party's official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.
Royal scion Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati's withdrawal as Congress candidate from Kolhapur North minutes before the deadline left the party without representation in one of its western Maharashtra strongholds. She was nominated in place of ex-corporator Rajesh Latkar after a party office was vandalised by those opposed to the latter.
Among the seven Congress rebels that withdrew their nomination were Hemalata Patil from Nashik Central, Madhu Chavan from Byculla and Vishwanath Walvi from Nandurbar. Only two NCP(SP) rebels are in the fray.
Among those to withdraw from the electoral race was Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, who has held on-and-off hunger strikes and protests to demand reservation for the community in education and jobs over the past year. Jarange said, "The Maratha community will decide on its own whom to defeat and whom to elect." The activist on Sunday announced he would support two candidates from Parvati and Daund in the state assembly polls, though he said their names will be disclosed later.
After withdrawal of nominations, a total of 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats, while 2,938 candidates withdrew their papers. The figure is a 28 per cent increase from the 3,239 candidates who fought the 2019 assembly polls.
The elections this year will see major regional parties NCP and Shiv Sena contesting after a split down the middle. The factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP have joined hands with the BJP to form the Mahayuti.
In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23.
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