Campaigning ends for 13 seats in final phase of LS polls in Maharashtra; 264 candidates in fray

Mumbai: High-decibel campaigning powered by rallies and roadshows came to an end at 6 pm on Saturday in 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in North Maharashtra and Mumbai Metropolitan Region where polling will be held on May 20 in the fifth phase of general elections.

In this phase, which will also mark the conclusion of Lok Sabha polls in the state, 2.46 crore citizens are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 264 candidates.

Union ministers and BJP leaders Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North), Bharati Pawar (Dindori) and Kapil Patil (Bhiwandi), Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde (Kalyan), and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad and advocate Ujjwal Nikam of BJP (who will face off in Mumbai North Central seat) are among the key candidates in this round.

The other constituencies going to polls are Dhule, Nashik, Thane, Palghar, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai South Central and Mumbai South.

Thane, Palghar and Mumbai where ten of these 13 seats are situated form a major part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), one of the most urbanised pockets in the country.

Voting will be conducted from 7 am to 6 pm in 24,553 polling centres.

Altogether, there are 2,46,69,544 voters, including 1,31,38,526 male, 1,15,28,278 female and 2,740 from the third gender.

Dhule is witnessing a BJP versus Congress fight. In Dindori, it is BJP versus Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SCP), while Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) are facing off in Nashik.

The contest is between BJP and Sena (UBT) in Palghar, while BJP and NCP (SCP) are the main contenders in the textile manufacturing hub of Bhiwandi.

Thane and Kalyan where rival Senas are pitted against each other are prestige battles for CM Shinde as they are on his home turf. CM Shinde’s close aide Naresh Mhaske and his son Shrikant Shinde are the Sena nominees in Thane and Kalyan, respectively.

Of Mumbai’s six seats, Thackeray managed to put up his party candidates in Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North East and Mumbai North West as part of the seat-sharing deal with its Maha Vikas Aghadi partners NCP (SP) and Congress.

Congress candidates are in the fray in Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North in the metropolis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed campaign rallies in Kalyan and Dindori in support of the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP ‘Mahayuti’ coalition’s candidates and also held a roadshow in northeast Mumbai.

Modi was again back in Mumbai on Friday for a rally in the city’s Shivaji Park. Opposition bloc INDIA also held a rally the same day at the city’s Bandra Kurla Complex that was attended by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

On the concluding day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held public meetings at Malegaon in Nashik district and Palghar to canvass for Mahayuti candidates.