The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Election 2024 is approaching, with significant attention on the contest between the ruling Mahayuti coalition, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena – Shinde), Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis (BJP), and Ajit Pawar (NCP), and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) led by Sharad Pawar (NCP-Sharad Pawar) and Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena-UBT). The Umarkhed Assembly constituency is a key battleground, while the Umarkhed constituency falls within the Hingoli Lok Sabha constituency.
Umarkhed is one of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, designated as constituency number 182 in Yavatmal district. It is a scheduled caste category constituency currently represented by Namdev Sasane of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
There are a total of 17 candidates in fray for the Umarkhed assembly seat. The key candidates in the elections are Kisan Maroti Wankhede from the BJP who is being backed by the MahaYuti and Congress candidate Sahebro Dattarao Kamble.
In the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, Namdev Sasane defeated Congress Party’s Khadse Vijayrao Yadavrao by over 9,000 votes, securing 87,337 votes to Yadavrao’s 78,050 votes. Before Sasane, the constituency was represented by Rajendra Najardhane (BJP).
According to election commission data, there are 3,17,389 voters in the Umarkhed constituency.
Umarkhed is generally considered a BJP stronghold with a large Maharashtrian population, though other parties like the Congress have previously won the seat. This election, the constituency is in focus due to the clash between BJP and Congress, likely making the fight for Umarkhed a prestige issue for both parties.
Prominent issues in Umarkhed include farmers’ demands regarding their sugarcane and soybean produce.
Currently, the ruling coalition in Maharashtra has 202 MLAs, with BJP holding 102 seats, NCP (Ajit Pawar) 40, Shiv Sena (Shinde) 38, and other parties 24. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has 69 seats, with Congress holding 37, Shiv Sena (UBT) 16, NCP (Sharad Pawar) 12, and other parties six. Fifteen seats are vacant.
