Its Rerun Of 2019 Candidates In Aurangabad Constituency

Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency is the Hyderabad based-AIMIM’s only Lok Sabha seat outside Telangana. Since 1989, Aurangabad had been a Siv Sena stronghold with the Congress winning the constituency just once in 1998.

Maharashtra is known for the political upheaval it has witnessed in the past five years. The Lok Sabha constituency which has undergone a name change will see a repeat of the fight that occurred in 2019. In the 2019 election, for the first time, Owaisi’s party was able to dislodge the undivided Shiv Sena from its citadel.

Although in the records of the Election Commission, the constituency has been renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the prestigious Lok Sabha seat is still known by its old name, Aurangabad.

Since 1989, the constituency remained a strong bastion of Shiv Sena. However, they faced the first onset when its veteran leader Chandrakanth Khaire faced an unexpected defeat against AIMIM candidate Imtiyaz Jaleel by a narrow margin of less than 45,000 votes.

Much has happened in the Maharashtra politics between 2019 and 2024. The Shiv Sena suffered a split in June 2022 and the party faction headed by Uddhav Thackeray acquired a new party symbol. Shiv Sena (UBT) faction has once again fielded the Khaire as their candidate. While Shinde faction has fielded Cabinet minister Sandipanrao Bhumre, MLA from Paithan as their candidate.

In the Marathwada region, the key issues are the Maratha reservation protests, the state government’s concession to them, and the OBC’s fear of losing the quota benefits.

The main disadvantage Shinde’s Bhumre faces is that he is seen as an ‘outsider’ for not being from Aurangabad. However, the Sena (UBT) chief has their sympathy for Shinde splitting the party founded by Uddhav’s father Bal Thackeray, and walking away with 40 of the MLAs and 13 MPs.

Many including the one who doesn’t like Khaire from the constituency have said that there is only the ‘Bal Thackeray Shiv Sena’ in the constituency and does not recognize the other faction.

As Muslims are the majority in the constituency, AIMIM is a strong contender for the community’s vote. However, although it is yet to be seen if Jaleel’s attempt to portray himself as an inclusive leader will be rewarded by the voters. If Jaleel wins, AIMIM will script history by retaining the constituency.