Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will kick off his assembly election campaign in Mumbai on the occasion of Bhai Dooj (Bhau Beej) on Sunday.

According to party sources, CM Shinde is scheduled to address two separate campaign rallies in celebration of Bhai Dooj (Bhau Beej). First, he will hold a rally in support of the Shiv Sena candidate Mangesh Kudalkar in the Kurla East constituency. Following that, he will conduct another rally in support of the Shiv Sena candidate Murji Patel from the Andheri East constituency, sources said.

Both the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress — have intensified their preparations for the upcoming elections to 288 Assembly seats in the State. The BJP is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance alongside the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

Meanwhile, BJP has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold 11 rallies in Maharashtra from November 8 to 14 as the campaign intensifies for the November 20 assembly elections.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule told ANI that PM Modi is expected to address election meetings in Dhule and Nashik on November 8, Akola and Nanded on November 9, Chandrapur, Chimur, Solapur and Pune on November 12 and Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, and Mumbai on November 14.

In the upcoming assembly polls, the Baramati constituency in Maharashtra will again witness a family battle as NCP leader Ajit Pawar will face his nephew Yugendra Pawar. He is the son of Ajit Pawar’s younger brother Shrinivas Pawar.

Earlier, Baramati witnessed a high-profile battle in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when Sunetra Pawar contested against Supriya Sule. The latter won the contest by 1.5 lakh votes.

Maharashtra elections will be held in a single phase on November 20 with counting of votes held on November 23.

In the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.