Maharashtra polls: How the first list of Mahayuti, MVA candidates was decided

Mumbai: Just hours before announcing their first lists of candidates for the assembly elections, the three constituents in the Mahayuti alliance had to take some hard calls. However, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is profiting from the tricky manoeuvring that has left a trail of unhappy candidates in its opponents’ camp. A behind-the-scenes look at last-minute negotiations as the clock winds down:

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to drop several of its 48 MLAs whose assembly segments trailed in the Lok Sabha election earlier this year. However, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have their backs against wall. They cannot drop the BJP’s strategy – in the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, 19 of the 41 MLAs and the NCP, 24 of 42 MLAs trailed in their assembly constituencies during the parliamentary polls.

Of the 185 sitting MLAs from the three constituents of the Mahayuti alliance, 94 led in their respective constituencies. The BJP is taking the negative report card very seriously, after examining the performance of its 103 MLAs in the LS polls. Among the prominent leaders whose constituencies trailed are Sudhir Mungantiwar, Atul Save and Suresh Khade; former ministers Ashok Uike, Babanrao Lonikar, Haribhau Bagde and Babanrao Pachpute; and spokesperson Ram Kadam.

But the Shiv Sena and NCP’s sitting MLAs appear to be safe. The Sena’s 41 sitting MLAs and NCP’s 42 MLAs had stuck with their leaders after splits in their respective parties, in June 2022 and July 2023. “Denying them tickets would send out the wrong message. Besides, these MLAs are established leaders in their respective constituencies,” said a leader from the Shinde-led Sena. He added that dropping their sitting MLAs could provoke a rebellion.

Another party leader said the MLAs who stuck with Shinde and Pawar had been rewarded with significant funds for their respective constituencies. This has strengthened their political position locally and it would be foolish to drop them.

Others point out that poor performance in the assembly segments of these MLAs could be because the Lok Sabha candidates were from other parties in the alliance. Krishna Hegde, spokesperson of the Shinde-led Sena added, “The issues and reasons for the performance of MLAs in a Lok Sabha election are different from assembly polls. I don’t think it will be a factor while considering their candidacy.”

Ajit Pawar’s NCP is facing a graver challenge while finalising its list of candidates. “Many of the MLAs who stuck with him during the split are returning to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. Most of his sitting MLAs are strong leaders in their respective constituencies and will win on their own,” said an NCP leader. “The party has finalised its list of over 40 candidates and most of them are sitting MLAs,” he added.

In the opposite camp, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has declared a ‘no entry’ policy for MLAs who had deserted the party and joined Shinde’s Sena in 2022. Instead, in a clever strategy, they are importing leaders from other parties, particularly the ruling BJP-NCP, in constituencies where the Sena (UBT) doesn’t have a strong leader to contest and where they are up against ‘traitor’ MLAs.

On Friday, two leaders from the ruling BJP, Rajan Teli and Suresh Bankar, and two leaders from the NCP, Deepak Salunkhe and Moreshwar Bhondve, joined Sena (UBT) in the presence of party chief, Uddhav Thackeray.

The Sena (UBT)’s opportunism might just pay off. The party needs strong local leaders to contest in many constituencies, particularly in Western Maharashtra, and against their rebel MLAs. As it turns out, they have many candidates to choose from. Several aspiring leaders from the three constituents of the Mahayuti alliance are unhappy at being denied tickets as the constituencies of their choosing have been assigned to one of the other parties in the coalition.

According to party insiders, besides the leaders who joined the Sena (UBT) on Friday, Thackeray is also talking to other leaders, like Ganesh Naik from Navi Mumbai, former BJP MP Pratap Patil-Chikhalikar from Nanded, and some in Western Maharashtra.