The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), or NCP (SP), has announced its first list of 45 candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. The list features prominent leaders like Jayant Patil, Anil Deshmukh, and Rajesh Tope, alongside some fresh faces making their political debut.

Among the notable candidates is Yugendra Pawar, who has been fielded against his uncle and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar, in Baramati. Yugendra is the son of Shrinivas Pawar, Ajit Pawar’s younger brother, making this a closely watched contest within the family.

Other major names on the list include Jayant Patil, the state chief of NCP (SP), who will be contesting from Islampur. Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh is nominated from Katol, and Jitendra Awhad will be representing Mumbra-Kalwa. The list also features Harshvardhan Patil from Indapur, and Rohit Patil, the son of late R R Patil, making his debut from Tasgaon-Kavthemahankal.

The Pawar family rivalry is highlighted by the fact that in the last Lok Sabha elections, Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra Pawar, lost in the Baramati parliamentary constituency. She polled 5,73,979 votes, but was defeated by her sister-in-law and NCP (SP) leader, **Supriya Sule**, who garnered 7,32,312 votes.

The release of this first list marks the beginning of what is expected to be a heated political contest in Maharashtra, especially with family members going head-to-head in key constituencies.