The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released the first list of 99 candidates for the Maharashtra assembly election that will be held on November 20. — ANI (@ANI) The announcement comes after a crucial meeting regarding the NDA alliance for Maharashtra assembly elections was held at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence on Friday. The meeting lasted until around 2 AM and was attended by key figures including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The three parties had previously reached a consensus on 240 seats, but discussions were ongoing for the remaining 48 seats where alignment had been challenging.114243422The parties had agreed to swap seats to address anti-incumbency issues, ensuring a strategic approach to their campaigns. Key candidates and constituencies Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis will contest from Nagpur South West, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule from Kamthi, minister Girish Mahajan from Jamner, minister 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.Maharashtra election datesThe voters from Maharashtra will be casting their ballots on November 20 in single phase. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 23.As the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly’s current term ends in November, the state braces for an intense two-way battle between two coalitions—the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), consisting of Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Congress, and the Maha Yuti Alliance, which brings together BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), and NCP (Ajit Pawar).114288868"Total districts in Maharashtra is 36 with 288 constituencies, of which 234 are General, ST constituencies 25 and SC constituencies 29. Term of the Assembly of Maharashtra is ending on Nov 26, 2024. There are 9.63 crore voters in Maharashtra - 4.97 crore males and 4.66 crore female voters. There are 1.85 crore young voters, of which 20.93 lakh are first-time voters... There are total 1,00,186 polling stations at 52,789 locations," said CEC Rajiv Kumar during the press conference.The upcoming election promises high drama as it pits Sena vs Sena, Pawar vs Pawar, and the ever-present battle of Congress vs BJP. The political landscape has dramatically shifted since the last assembly election in 2019, with splits and power shifts taking center stage.