Maharashtra Elections 2024: Congress Releases Second List of 23 Candidates

The Congress released its second list of 23 candidates from the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The notable nominations include Girish Pandav from Nagpur South and Shekhar Shinde from Wardha.

Second List for Maharashtra Elections 2024, Highlights Vidarbha Focus

Congress has shortlisted its second list of 23 candidates, dominated by the Vidarbha region in the high-stakes Maharashtra Assembly election race. Important names include Nagpur South's Girish Pandav, Shekhar Shinde from Wardha, and Anil Mangulkar from Yavatmal. This is after the first list of 48 candidates that Congress released two days back. That had included some big-ticket names like Vijay Wadettiwar, Nana Patole, Prithviraj Chavan, and Balasaheb Thorat.

The second list includes names such as Rajesh Tukaram from Bhujbal, Swati Wakdekar from Jalgaon, Anuja Sunil Kedar from Saoner, and Pooja Thakkar from Bhandara. Other notable candidates are Basant Purke from Ralegaon, Suresh Bhawar from Kamptee, Dilip Bansod from Arjuni, and Vijay Patil from Basai. Kalu Badhelia will contest for Kandivali East in the urban constituencies, followed by Jitendra Moghe from Ami, Kailash Gorantial from Jalna, and Ganpat Rao Patil from Shirol. With 71 candidates announced so far, Congress is likely to come up with its final list later today to fill up the 85 seats it has sealed officially under the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.

However, Congress sources said the party might field nominees in 90 to 95 constituencies as seat-sharing talks with allied parties continue.

The Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP have announced candidates for 196 of Maharashtra's 288 assembly seats. Shiv Sena (UBT) has announced 80 candidates, Congress 71, and NCP, Sharad Pawar faction, 45. Rest of the seats are probably going to be given to some smaller allies like CPM, Shetkari Sanghatana, and Samajwadi Party (SP), with SP reportedly negotiating for five seats.

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The proximity to election date sees the coming of Congress: the combination of regional focus and seasoned leadership as its strategy towards the consolidation of its position in Maharashtra so that it would obtain an important share of the collective tally of the MVA. It will ensure to get a hold on each and every diverse constituency for strengthening the stand of this alliance against BJP and all the other political contenders within the precincts of state of Maharashtra.