Lok Sabha elections 2024: Which are the key seats in Maharashtra? Which issues concern voters?

As Lok Sabha elections are just a week away, the poll fervour has reached a fever pitch across the country. India is conducting the general elections in seven phases from 19 April to 1 June, with the declaration of results on 4 June.

Maharashtra is crucial for any political party as it plays a major role in shaping the political narrative. The western state sends the second-highest number of MPs to the lower house of Parliament at 48, after Uttar Pradesh (80).

Here’s everything you need to know about Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections

Maharashtra’s electoral unpredictability makes the contest intriguing. The state has been witnessing high-decibel political dramas since 2022.

The main contest is between the ruling Mahayuti alliance – Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, out of which five are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates and four for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates.

The remaining 39 seats are unreserved.

Under the MVA’s seat-sharing formula, Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest from 21 seats, Congress 17 and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) on 10. The ruling Mahayuti alliance is yet to finalise a seat-sharing deal.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had bagged 23 seats and the then undivided Shiv Sena got 18. The undivided NCP led by Sharad Pawar secured four while the Congress and the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) managed to clinch one seat each. An Independent candidate won the remaining one seat.

Amid splits in two major regional parties of Maharashtra – NCP and Shiv Sena, it is hard to predict which alliance the voters will place their trust in this time.

Maharashtra LS polls: Phases

Polling will be held in Maharashtra in five phases from 19 April to 20 May.

Phase I: 19 April

Nagpur, Ramtek Bhandara-Gondiya, Gadchiroli-Chimur and Chandrapur will go to polls.

Phase II: 26 April

Electors in Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Wardha, Yavatmal Washim, Hingoli, Nanded and Parbhani will cast their votes.

Phase III: 7 May

Raigad, Baramati, Kolhapur, Osmanabad, Latur, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg will vote.

Phase IV: 13 May

Voters in Aurangabad, Maval, Pune, Shirur, Ahmednagar, Shirdi, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna and Beed will cast ballots.

Phase V: 20 May

Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, Mumbai South, Dhule, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Dindori, Nashik and Palghar will vote.

ALSO READ: Who are the key faces in Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha polls? Which issues could dominate?

Maharashtra LS polls: Key seats

Mumbai North: The BJP’s Gopal Shetty won the seat in the 2014 and 2019 elections. The saffron party has fielded Union minister Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North this time. The Congress has so far not declared its candidate.

Baramati: The turf of Baramati has been the bastion of veteran politician Sharad Pawar and his family. This time, it is going to be a Pawar vs Pawar battle in the high-profile constituency. Pawar’s daughter and three-time Baramati MP Supriya Sule will be facing her cousin Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra.

Mumbai South: The posh Mumbai South is home to some top industrialists and bureaucrats. Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT) has been the MLA from the seat since 2014. He is contesting from the seat again. The Mahayuti alliance’s candidate from Mumbai South is not known yet.

Nagpur: Union minister Nitin Gadkari is fighting from Nagpur again on the BJP symbol. The city, which houses the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters and is also the home turf of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, was once a stronghold of Congress’ Vilas Muttemwar, as per a CNBC report.

Nitin Gadkari is contesting from Nagpur Lok Sabha seat again. PTI File Photo

However, Nitin Gadkari bagged the seat in 2014 and again in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress has given a ticket to its Nagpur West MLA Vikas Thakre from the constituency.

Nashik: Rajabhau Waje will enter the fray from the Nashik Lok Sabha seat on a Shiv Sena (UBT) ticket. The constituency has emerged as a prickly thorn for the ruling Mahayuti alliance which is yet to declare a candidate for the seat.

Hemant Godse of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) is the sitting MP. Tensions had erupted among the constituents of Mahayuti last month after Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant had announced Godse as the party’s candidate for the seat.

The NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) has also staked a claim to the seat, leading to a deadlock in seat-sharing talks.

Kalyan: The Maharashtra CM’s son, Shrikant Shinde, will be in the race from Kalyan Lok Sabha seat. He won the seat in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls on the then undivided Shiv Sena ticket. The junior Shinde will be facing Vaishali Darekar-Rane of Shiv Sena (UBT) from the prominent seat.

Amravati: Amravati Lok Sabha constituency in Western Vidarbha has never elected a BJP candidate since its formation in 1951. However, the BJP hopes to change that with its candidate Navneet Kaur Rana. She had won the seat in 2019 as an Independent candidate. Rana, who is fighting on the BJP symbol, will face Congress’ Balwant Basawant Wankhede and Sanjay Gadge of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Bhandara-Gondia, Beed, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and Nanded are some other key constituencies to watch out for.

Maharashtra Lok Sabha polls: Key issues

The Maratha reservation could be a poll topic in the Lok Sabha elections, as per PTI. The issue of quota for Marathas in education and government jobs was rekindled in the state after Maratha Kranti Morcha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil went on an indefinite hunger strike last August.

After protests, the Maharashtra government decided to grant a 10 per cent reservation to the Maratha community under the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) category. The provision has been challenged in the Bombay High Court, with one of the petitioners arguing that the community does not need reservation as it does not qualify as a backward class, The Hindu reported.

Farmers’ issues can also decide the fate of candidates. While the ruling coalition will be highlighting its schemes for the farmers, the Opposition has tried to corner the government over farmer suicides and accused it of not ensuring adequate MSP for crops, PTI reported.

The big-ticket infrastructure projects could also figure in the polls. The ruling Mahayuti is likely to bring up the fully or partially completed projects such as the 701-km Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, 21.8-km Mumbai Trans Harbour link (MTHL), Mumbai Coastal Road and Metro rail projects launched during its tenure.

A general view of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) in Mumbai on 5 January 2024. Reuters File Photo

The kickstarting of Vande Bharat trains from Mumbai to Shirdi, Solapur and Jalna may also be used as a poll plank by the ruling alliance.

Opinion poll prediction 

According to News18 Mega Opinion Poll, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is poised to bag 41 out of 48 seats, with a 48 per cent vote share.

The INDIA bloc could win seven seats with a 34 per cent vote share.

With inputs from agencies