New Delhi: With withdrawal of nominations nearing, Mahayuti alliance and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition are still battling it out with the rebels who can dent their electoral prospects. Mahayuti and MVA have their share of headache with these rebel candidates.
Around 50 candidates have rebelled against their parties. Out of them, the majority — as many as 36 — are from the Mahayuti coalition, while the remaining are from the MVA. A total of 19 are from the BJP, and 16 from Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena, while one is from the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
A look at the candidates who have rebelled from MVA shows that most of them — 10 — are from the Congress. The Udhav Thackeray Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) of Sharad Pawar come in next. The 14 MVA rebels are besides the candidates from the alliance partners who have submitted nominations in the constituencies of Kurla, Pandharpur, South Solapur, Sangola, and Paranda.
‘Check internal rift’
At a recent meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had asked Shinde and Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis to check internal infighting and rift. In a coalition, the alliance have limitations and everyone can’t be accommodated, Fadnavis had said, and pointed out that talks will be held with the rebels to convince them.
As many as 9 rebels from Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction are in the fray in seats where the BJP has fielded candidates, including Airoli in Navi Mumbai, Andheri East, Pachora in Jalgaon district, and Belapur in Thane district. A total of 10 BJP rebels are contesting against Shinde’s Sena in constituencies allotted to them. BJP rebels will fight against the NCP in nine seats while Shiv Sena rebels are fighting in seven seats given to Ajit Pawar’s NCP. In the MVA, the Congress has four rebels contesting against the alliance’s official candidates.
