Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Samajwadi Party Goes Solo As MVA Alliance Talks Stall; Strong Contenders To Look Out For In Bhiwandi Seat

In the Bhiwandi West assembly election, a total of 14 candidates are competing. The Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) has fielded Dayanand Choraghe, while the Samajwadi Party has set aside its alliance with the MVA and fielded Riyaz Azmi. Notably, the Samajwadi Party has two candidates in the Bhiwandi constituency: Rais Shaikh in Bhiwandi East and Riyaz Azmi in Bhiwandi West.

The voter demographics in Bhiwandi West include 3,32,856 total votes, with 1,89,643 male voters, 1,43,055 female voters, 185 transgender voters, 1,209 disabled voters, and 2,256 senior citizens. Political experts consider the race in Bhiwandi West highly competitive, with key candidates including incumbent BJP MLA Mahesh Chughule, Congress rebel candidate Vilas Patil, MVA's Dayanand Choraghe, Samajwadi Party's Riyaz Azmi, and AIMIM's Waris Pathan.

In Bhiwandi East, 11 candidates are vying for seats, with Santosh Shetty, a former BJP member who joined Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, emerging as a strong contender. Former MLA Rupesh Mhatre, who initially filed as an independent after leaving UBT, has since joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena to support Mahayuti candidate Santosh Shetty. Samajwadi Party's Rais Shaikh is contesting against Shetty in this constituency.

Bhiwandi East has a total of 3,73,645 votes, with 2,15,050 male voters, 1,58,407 female voters, 188 transgender voters, 1,671 disabled voters, and 693 senior citizens.

The Samajwadi Party has also declared candidates for other seats, including Tuljapur, Paranda, Aurangabad East, Malegaon Central, and Dhule City. Sources within the Samajwadi Party indicate that they initially requested a dozen seats from the MVA but ultimately decided to field their own candidates after failing to reach an agreement.