From Baramati to Nagpur: High-profile battles in Maharashtra

Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the electoral battle in Baramati will be the most keenly watched one in the ensuing elections.

Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20. Counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Following are the key Lok Sabha seats to watch out for in Maharashtra.

1. Baramati

This western Maharashtra constituency has always backed Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar and his family over the last five decades.

The situation has drastically changed this time after nephew Ajit Pawar rebelled against him and joined the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state as deputy chief minister.

Supriya Sule, the present three-term MP and Sharad Pawar's daughter, is facing a challenge from Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra, making for a riveting high-stakes contest within the prominent political family.

2. Nagpur

BJP veteran and Union minister Nitin Gadkari is a two-time MP from this constituency which also houses the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

It is also the home turf of state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

It was once a Congress stronghold, but Gadkari won by a margin of more than two lakh votes in the last two elections.

3. Bhandara-Gondia

This eastern Maharashtra constituency assumes significance as its former MP and now NCP working president Praful Patel is believed to have played a key role in Ajit Pawar's rebellion against Sharad Pawar.

The BJP has won the seat four times since 1989 but always opted for a fresh face.

The saffron party's Sunil Mendhe is the incumbent MP.

4. Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg

This coastal constituency will be closely watched if the BJP fields Union minister Narayan Rane.

His son Nilesh represented it earlier before losing in 2014 and 2019 to Shiv Sena's Vinayak Raut who is now with Shiv Sena-UBT.

The constituency has witnessed agitations against a proposed mega refinery and an under-construction nuclear power plant.

The Rane family apparently got upset when the BJP gave the charge of the coastal region to minister Ravindra Chavan.

5. Bhiwandi 

The BJP won this constituency near Mumbai in 2014 and 2019.

It is currently represented by Union minister Kapil Patil.

Muslims have a sizable presence in the area which is known for its powerloom industry.

6. Kalyan

Another constituency in the Mumbai region.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde won from here in 2014 and 2019 on the ticket of the undivided Shiv Sena.

Of its six assembly segments, three are with the BJP, one with the Shiv Sena, and one each with the MNS and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar.

Simmering tensions between the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena came to surface recently when a BJP MLA opened fire on a local Sena leader inside a police station in Ulhasnagar.

7. Nanded

This central Maharashtra constituency has been a stronghold of Congress, and the family of former chief minister Ashok Chavan, who won the seat in 2014, but lost to the BJP's Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar in 2019 with the VBA-AIMIM candidate eating into the Congress' votes.

Chavan is now in the BJP and a Rajya Sabha member, but if his party loses, it will also be a blow to his prestige in his new political home.

8. Dindori

In 2019, the BJP refused ticket to incumbent MP Harishchandra Chavan from this north Maharashtra seat, and gave ticket to NCP turncoat Bharti Pawar, who won by two lakh votes and became a Union minister of state.

She is considered close to Devendra Fadnavis, and another victory will raise her standing within the party.

9. Beed

Once a stronghold of BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde who died in an accident in 2014, this central Maharashtra constituency elected his younger daughter Pritam Munde in the subsequent byelection and again in 2019. Her elder sister Pankaja Munde lost her assembly seat to her estranged cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde in 2019.

Dhananjay, who belongs to the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, is now a state minister.

Pankaja has replaced Pritam as BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Beed amid reports of Pritam facing an anti-incumbency sentiment.

10. Raver

Raksha Khadse, the sitting MP of this north Maharashtra seat, is with the BJP, while her father-in-law Eknath Khadse is with the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP after his exit from the saffron party.

Raksha won in 2014 while contesting for the first time, and increased her victory margin in 2019.

11. Mumbai South 

This constituency, where some top industrialist families and bureaucrats live, has been represented by Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena-UBT since 2014.

Sawant defeated Congress' Milind Deora in 2014 and 2019.

Deora is now a Rajya Sabha member of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and is likely to be challenged by assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar of BJP who won south Mumbai's Colaba assembly seat in 2019.

12. Mumbai North

The BJP has named Union minister Piyush Goyal as the candidate from the Mumbai North constituency, which is considered as one of the party's safest seats.

In his three-decade-long political career, Goyal has never contested Lok Sabha or state assembly elections.

Many key policies showcased as achievements of the 10 years of the Narendra Modi-led government came through the portfolios handled by Goyal.