Mumbai: With the nomination window closed for Maharashtra’s highly anticipated 2024 Assembly elections, both Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena alliance) and Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) face a competitive scenario marked by intra-party conflicts and rebel candidates. The race, already intense, now sees significant internal discord as prominent leaders and aspiring candidates across both alliances break ranks to contest independently.
The BJP-led Mahayuti has announced a robust candidate list featuring political heavyweights like Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Their influence across their constituencies strengthens Mahayuti’s standing, yet internal disagreements and limited seat allocations have spurred discontent within ranks. Similarly, Mahavikas Aghadi’s coalition—comprising Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP factions—is contending with its own share of rebel candidates in key constituencies.
Reports indicate an increase in independent nominations by disgruntled candidates. As Mahayuti allocated seats after intense negotiations, party loyalists dissatisfied with the candidate selections, including former MLAs and district leaders, have opted to contest as independents or under smaller party banners. Some prominent areas witnessing these rebel filings include Pune, Nagpur, Kalyan and Kolhapur. On the MVA side, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction has faced pushback from long-time supporters who opposed seat distribution arrangements with the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP.
Three notable leaders in this dynamic are Devendra Fadnavis, whose stronghold in Nagpur ensures a solid support base for Mahayuti, Sharad Pawar of the NCP, a pivotal player in the alliance’s rural outreach, and Uddhav Thackeray, whose faction maintains a dedicated base despite past setbacks. Fadnavis, as a central BJP figure in Maharashtra, has aimed for strategic deployments to keep rebel influences at bay. Similarly, Jayant Patil Present of NCP-SP Maharashtra unit is seen active trying to convince NCP dissenters and securing his party’s positioning in Maharashtra. Thackeray, however, is balancing inter-factional demands within the MVA, facing critiques over alliance strategies.
Maharashtra’s electoral landscape is shaped not only by party lines but by internal dynamics. As Mahayuti and MVA vie for dominance, they face a difficult task to address the issues raised by rebelling candidates to prevent vote splits that could impact tight races. Although both alliances claim they can mitigate these challenges, local leaders who command significant grassroots support could affect final vote tallies if they continue their campaigns independently.
