Maharashtra Elections: Sharad Pawar-Led NCP Releases First List 45 Candidates

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-Sharad Pawar faction) announced its first list of 45 candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Elections on October 24. Among the notable candidates, Yugendra Pawar was named to contest from the Baramati seat, where he will face off against his uncle, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Maharashtra NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) President Jayant Patil said, "Following the instructions of National President Sharad Pawar, I am announcing the first list of candidates. I will contest from Islampur, while Jitendra Awhad will run from Mumbra, Anil Deshmukh from Katol, Rohit Pawar from Karjat Jamkhed, and Rohini Khadse from Muktainagar."

Full list of candidates:

- Islampur: Jayant Patil
- Katol: Anil Deshmukh
- Ghansawangi: Rajesh Tope
- Karad North: Balasaheb Patil
- Kalwa Mumbra: Jitendra Awhad
- Koregaon: Shashikant Shinde
- Vasmat: Jayaprakash Dandegaonkar
- Jalgaon Rural: Gulabrao Deokar
- Indapur: Harshvardhan Patil
- Rahuri: Prajakt Tanpure
- Shirur: Ashok Pawar
- Shirala: Man Singh Naik
- Vikramgad: Sunil Bhusara
- Karjat Jamkhed: Rohit Pawar
- Tasgaon: Rohit Patil
- Ahampur: Vinayak Patil
- Shindkhed: Rajendra Shingane
- Udgir: Sudhakar Bhalerao
- Bhokardan: Chandrakant Danve
- Tumsar: Charan Waghmare
- Kinwat: Pradeep Naik
- Jintoor: Vijay Bhamble
- Belapur: Sandeep Naik
- Vadgaon Sherry: Bapu Saheb Pathare
- Jamner: Dilip Khodpe
- Muktainagar: Rohini Khadse
- Murtijapur: Samrat Dongardive
- Nagpur: Duneshwar Pethe
- Tiroda: Ravikant Bopche
- Hari: Bhagyashree Atram
- Badnapur: Rupkumar Bablu Chaudhary
- Ghatkopar East: Rakhi Jadhav
- Ambegaon: Devdutt Nikam
- Baramati: Yugendra Pawar
- Kopargaon: Sandeep Varpe
- Shevgaon: Pratap Dhakane
- Parner: Rani Lanka
- Karmala: Narayan Patil
- Solapur North: Mahesh Kothe
- Kagal: Samarjit Singh Ghatge
- Chiplun: Prashant Yadav
- Hadapsar: Prashant Jagtap
- Cage: Prithviraj Sathe
- Ashti: Mehboob Shaikh
- Shirala: Man Singh Naik

The battle for Baramati is expected to draw attention, with Yugendra Pawar, son of Ajit Pawar's younger brother Shrinivas, challenging his uncle Ajit Pawar. Jayant Patil explained that Yugendra's selection was driven by local demand in Baramati, praising his youth, education, and ability to unite the community. "The way people are supporting him, I believe this time the results will be different," said Patil.

In addition to Yugendra, key figures in the list include state NCP President Jayant Patil (Islampur), Jitendra Awhad (Mumbra-Kalwa), Anil Deshmukh (Katol), and Rohit Patil, son of the late R R Patil, who will make his electoral debut from Tasgaon-Kavthemahankal.

During the Lok Sabha elections, Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar lost the Baramati seat to Supriya Sule, further setting the stage for an intriguing contest in the upcoming Assembly elections.