Mumbai, October 4: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis filed his nomination papers from the Nagpur South-West constituency on Friday, which was also the last date for the filing of candidatures. At the Election Commission office, Fadnavis was accompanied by his mentor and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. The seat is considered to be a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as its ideological parent - the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - is headquartered in Nagpur. Sanjay Nirupam Threatens to Quit Congress Ahead of Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2019, Says 'Rahul Gandhi Loyalists Being Sidelined'.

The nomination filing ceremony turned out to be a show of strength, as scores of BJP workers joined the procession to the Election Commission office, where the Chief Minister filed his candidature. Fadnavis has represented the constituency between 1999-2009.

Update by ANI:

Elections in Maharashtra are scheduled to be held in a single-phase across the 288 constituencies. Fadnavis, the incumbent CM, is projected by the BJP to lead the state if the party returns to power. Their coalition partner, Shiv Sena, has not backed the move and reiterated that the next Chief Minister would be a Shiv Sainik.

The BJP-Sena alliance, which had broken after 25 years ahead of the 2014 polls, was restitched under a post-poll pact. The two parties had formed a government under the leadership of Fadnavis.

Ahead of the recent Lok Sabha elections, Sena decided to continue its alliance with the BJP on the condition that they would get an equal share in the pre-poll pact which would be formed ahead of the assembly polls.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 04, 2019 01:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).