Maharashtra assembly to have 78 first-time MLAs

Seventy-eight first-time poll winners will enter the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, comprising about 27 per cent of its strength.

Of these, 33 are from the BJP, 14 from the Shiv Sena and eight from the NCP.

While the Shiv Sena (UBT) has 10 newcomers,six such MLA-elects are from the Congress and four from the NCP (SP).

There are two first-time assembly poll winners from smaller parties, while an independent candidate will also make his debut in the House.

First-timers bagged nine of Mumbai’s 36 seats this time.

These include Sena (UBT) candidates Mahesh Sawant, who defeated MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray and sitting Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar in Mahim, and Varun Desai, who trounced Zeeshan Siddique of NCP in Vandre East.

Manoj Jamsutkar (Byculla), Anant Nar (Jogeshwari East), and Haroon Khan (Versova) are among the Sena (UBT) leaders set to assume the role of lawmakers for the first time.

BJP’s Sanjay Upadhyay, who won from Borivali, and his party colleague Murji Patel, who contested on a Shiv Sena ticket and bagged the Andheri East seat, Sana Malik of NCP from Anushaktinagar, Congress’ Jyoti Gaikwad from Dharavi are other such first-timers.

Shreejaya Chavan, daughter of former Congress chief minister Ashok Chavan who switched to BJP, emerged victorious from Bhokar is another first-timer.

Former NCP minister and BJP leader Babanrao Pachpute’s son Vikram won from Shrigonda on a BJP ticket, registering his first victory in the state polls.

BJP’s Atul Bhosale is all set to debut in the assembly after his victory over former chief minister and Congress veteran Prithviraj Chavan in Karad South. Bhosale is the son-in-law of Congress leader Dilip Deshmukh.

Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis’s personal assistant (PA) Sumit Wankhede, who won from the Arvi seat, will be another first-timer MLA.

Among the other debutant MLA-elects are former Shiv Sena MLA Anil Babar’s son Suhas, who won from Khanapur, Aurangabad MP Sandipan Bhumre’s son Vilas, the winning candidate in Paithan, and ex-MLA Chimanrao Patil's son Amol, who won from Erandol.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena won a landslide victory in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, bagging 230 of 288 seats.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi performed disastrously. Its partners Congress, Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) got 16, 20 and 10 seats, respectively.