MUMBAI: With half a dozen key players post splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP, a fragmented polity, Maratha quota stir and a spirited opposition, Maharashtra will see a riveting contest in the assembly polls amid dramatic changes since the last elections.Elections to the 288-member assembly, the second largest after Uttar Pradesh (403), will be held on November 20 in a single phase and counting of votes will be on November 23, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.The Nanded Lok Sabha bypoll, necessitated due to the death of Congress MP Vasant Chavan, will also be held on November 20.The Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is banking on its flagship scheme, Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which poor women get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500, to sway voters after the ruling bloc’s poor show in the Lok Sabha polls.The Rs 46,000-crore a year welfare scheme is being widely seen as a “game changer” for the ruling bloc which comprises the BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who joined the government just over a year ago after parting ways with his uncle Sharad Pawar.The government’s target is to cover 2.5 crore beneficiaries under the scheme.There are about 4.5 crore women voters in Maharashtra.The Mahayuti (grand alliance) is in a direct fight with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in a state where splits within major parties and realignments in the last five years have led to tectonic shift in political dynamics.The MVA consists of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by veteran politician Sharad Pawar.Both the MVA and the Mahayuti are yet to announce their seat-sharing deals.The ensuing assembly polls, the first since the splits in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and the NCP a year later, will be a test of strength for the two major alliances and will also indicate the ability of their individual constituents to transfer votes to each other.Even though the Lok Sabha elections saw the ruling alliance (which won 17 of 48 seats) suffering a jolt and the opposition MVA (30 seats) performing well, the assembly polls are going to be a different political ball game as state and local-level issues will dominate campaigning.Maharashtra’s political climate has never been more fragmented, with six main parties vying for influence: BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP).This fragmentation is a product of recent political upheavals, including the collapse of the MVA government and the emergence of new political factions.
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