22 October,2024 01:05 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sandeep Naik. Pic/X
Sandeep Naik, son of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Airoli candidate Ganesh Naik, resigned from all party positions on Tuesday.
Sandeep Naik is likely to join the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and is expected to contest the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 from the Belapur constituency, where he will face off against BJP candidate Manda Mhatre.
While announcing his resignation on X, Sandeep Naik said, "I have submitted my resignation from the position of BJP Navi Mumbai District President and from the party's membership to State President Shri Chandrashekharji Bawankule. I express my gratitude to the Bharatiya Janata Party for the trust it placed in me."
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its first list of 99 candidates for the Maharashtra assembly elections 2024, scheduled to be held on November 20.
As per the list, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will contest from Nagpur South West, while state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule will contest from the Kamthi seat.
Other key candidates include Minister Girish Mahajan who will contest from Jamner, Sudhir Mungantiwar from Ballarpur, Sreejaya Ashok Chavan from Bhokar, Ashish Shelar from Vandre West, Mangal Prabhat Lodha from Malabar Hill, Rahul Narwekar from Colaba, and Chhatrapati Shivendra Raje Bhosale from Satara.
The list also features Suresh Damu Bhole from Jalgaon City, Atul Save from Aurangabad East, Sanjay Mukund Kalkar from Thane, and Vinod Shelar from Malad West, among others.
The announcement was two days after a meeting held at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence to discuss the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) strategy for the Maharashtra polls.
Maharashtra has 288 Assembly seats, and the BJP is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance alongside the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
As election day nears, both the Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) -- comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress -- have intensified their preparations, including seat-sharing discussions.
In the recent parliamentary elections, the opposition MVA outperformed the BJP, winning 30 of Maharashtra's 48 seats, while the BJP's tally dropped to 9 from 23 in the previous election.
Maharashtra will vote on November 20, and the results will be announced on November 23.
