Sun Oct 20 11:29:47 UTC 2024: **Important Points from the Article:**

1. **BJP’s Candidate Announcement**: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of 99 candidates for the Maharashtra elections, including significant names like Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

2. **NDA Alliance**: Other parties in the NDA alliance, known as Mahayuti, are expected to announce their candidates soon. It is anticipated that the opposition alliance, Mahavikas Aghadi, will release its list either later today or tomorrow.

3. **Seat Distribution**: A total of 260 seats out of 288 have already been allocated, with BJP receiving 142, Ajit Pawar’s NCP getting 54, and the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena having 64 seats.

4. **Key Contestants**: Key figures such as Fadnavis will contest from Nagpur South-West, while Bawankule will contest from Kamthi. Also, Srija Chavan, daughter of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, will contest from Bokar.

5. **Progress of Other Parties**: The Congress claims that they have completed seat distribution for all but ten seats. However, there are indications of dissatisfaction within Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of Shiv Sena, which met with Sharad Pawar to express their concerns.

6. **NCP and Shiv Sena’s Status**: The Sharad Pawar faction of NCP has finalized 58 candidates, while over 60 candidates are ready from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction. Congress is preparing a list of over 70 candidates.

7. **Joint Announcement Possibility**: There are suggestions for a joint announcement of candidates involving Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena.

8. **Various Incidents**: The article also briefly mentions unrelated news incidents, such as a tragic accident in Dholpur, bomb threats in aviation services, and a bank manager found dead under mysterious circumstances.

This summary encapsulates the key developments in the political landscape of Maharashtra as the election approaches, highlighting the strategies and preparations of major political parties.

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