Maharashtra’s war of factions | Sena vs Sena for 13 seats; NCP vs NCP for two

Maharashtra's unprecedented Lok Sabha season features will Sena factions battle each other on 13 seats while NCP factions will clash on two seats.

Maharashtra is in for an unprecedented Lok Sabha season as they have two rival alliances, each with a Shiv Sena and a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction to choose from. Moreover, these two factions face each other on 15 seats — the Senas on 13 and the NCPs on two.

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In June 2022, Shiv Sena split into two factions after Eknath Shinde revolted, with 14 Sena MPs backing him and 5 MPs backing Uddhav Thackeray. Mr. Shinde was awarded the Shiv Sena party name as well as the bow-and-arrow symbol by the Election Commission (EC) while Mr. Thackeray’s faction has been renamed as Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and chosen the ‘mashaal’ (flaming torch) as its party symbol.

Similarly, in July 2023, Ajit Pawar revolted against his uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, splitting the party into two. The EC held that Ajit Pawar’s faction was the true NCP, awarding it the party name and the clock symbol. The NCP founder’s faction has been given the name NCP - Sharadchandra Pawar [NCP(SP)], sporting the ‘man blowing turha (trumpet)’ symbol in the polls.

As per the final seat-sharing tally, the Mahayuti will fight on the state’s 48 seats as follows – BJP (28), Shiv Sena (15), NCP (4), Rashtriya Samaj Paksha (1). Its opposing coalition – Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – has finalised its poll-pact as follows – Shiv Sena UBT [Sena (UBT)] on 21 seats, Congress on 17 seats, NCP Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) on 10 seats.

Here’s a look at the seats where the rival factions face each other:

Mumbai North West