AT STAKE POLITICAL CAREERS & LEGACIES

THE second voting phase on April 26 in Maharashtra will take place for eight seats. While three phases are still remaining to cover all 48 seats in the state, a few significant factors have come to the fore for the April 26 polls: a victory or defeat in this phase will, in all probability, decide the political careers of many stalwarts.

- SUDHIR SURYAWANSHI

It will settle long, disputed legacy issues involving Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde, on the one hand, and the Pawar family, on the other.

For the BJP, this phase will determine the political graph of Devendra Fadnavis his performance will underline whether he will assuredly be the main face of the party in the state.

CM Eknath Shinde

PM Modi and Union minister Amit Shah took a jibe at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, dubbing it a 'nakali' (duplicate) Sena. The top BJP leaders called the Shinde-led group the 'real' Shiv Sena, portraying the CM as the true legacy carrier of Balasaheb Thackeray. Despite the tag of being 'real,' the Shinde faction is contesting 13 seats against the 'duplicate' Sena that is contesting 21 as a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.

If the CM succeeds in retaining the existing seats or getting a major portion of the seats, then he will consolidate his positions in the government and party. Shinde's win will cast a shadow over Uddhav. The remaining elected representatives that are with Uddhav would likely desert him and join Shinde for a bright future.

Devendra Fadnavis