NEWS
ANALYSIS
SPECIALS
INTERVIEW
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
ISSUES
GALLERY
MANIFESTOS
OVERHEARD
INDIA SPEAKS!
DISCUSSION GROUP
CHAT
PREVIOUS RESULTS

Shivraj Patil, Mukul Wasnik among hopefuls in the first phase in Maharashtra

Former Lok Sabha speaker Shivraj Patil, former Union minister Mukul Wasnik, Congress general secretary Sushilkumar Shinde, former state minister Shrikant Jichkar, and Nationalist Congress Party spokesman Praful Patel are among those in the fray for the first phase of the Lok Sabha election in 24 constituencies of Maharashtra on September 5.

According to preliminary reports reaching the state electoral office in Bombay, 139 candidates are in the fray for the first phase. The exact details will only be available tomorrow, including details of the 144 assembly constituencies going to the polls in the first phase.

Among others in the fray are all the main Republican Party of India leaders heading different factions of the party -- Ramdas Athawale, R S Gawai, Jogendra Kawade and Prakash Ambedkar.

While Athawale, who represented Bombay North-Central in the twelfth Lok Sabha, is contesting from Pandharpur (SC) this time, Gawai, Ambedkar and Kawade are seek re-election from Amrawati, Akola and Chimur respectively.

The constituencies that will go to the polls in the first phase are: Dhule (ST), Nandurbar (ST), Erandol, Jalgaon, Buldhana (SC), Akola, Washim, Amrawati, Ramtek, Nagpur, Bhandara, Chimur, Chandrapur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Osmanabad (SC), Solapur, Pandharpur (SC) and Sangli.

A total of 22.9 million voters, including 12.6 million women, will exercise their franchise in the first phase in these 24 Lok Sabha and 144 assembly constituencies.

Tell us what you think of this report