Maharashtra's upcoming Assembly elections on November 20 are set to feature two factions of the Shiv Sena and two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in a fierce contest. The two Shiv Sena groups—one led by Eknath Shinde and the other by Uddhav Thackeray—will compete against each other on 49 seats. Similarly, the two NCP factions—led by Ajit Pawar and the NCP (SP)—will face off on 36 seats. In addition, on five seats, allies within the same coalition—Mahayuti or Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)—will engage in a ‘friendly fight.’

Under the final seat-sharing agreement within the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP will contest 148 seats, Shiv Sena will contest 80, and NCP will contest 53. Smaller parties have been allotted the remaining five seats. Constituencies such as Ashti, Morshi, and Anushaktinagar will see a three-way ‘friendly fight’ between the parties. On the MVA side, Congress will compete on 101 seats, Sena (UBT) will take on 94 seats, and NCP (SP) will fight for 88 seats. Paranada and Pandharpur constituencies will also see a friendly battle between the three allies.

The Election Commission has set the polling date for November 20, with results to be announced on November 23. The two main political alliances in Maharashtra will continue to debate the chief ministerial candidate, with Sena (UBT) pushing for a declaration of the CM face before the elections. However, they have struggled to gain support from their allies, Congress and NCP (SP), on this issue.

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