Kudal Assembly Election 2024: The Kudal Assembly constituency is shaping up to be a high-stakes battle between two Sena leaders, namely, incumbent MLA Vaibhav Naik, representing Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and Nilesh Rane, who is contesting as the candidate of Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction). Nilesh, son of BJP leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane, has significant political leverage and holds political leverage buoyed by his father's influence. Vaibhav Naik, however, is looking to retain his seat and uphold the Sena's legacy in Kudal, which has traditionally been seen as a bastion of the party. The contest is expected to be highly competitive, with both leaders vying for crucial voter support, making it a critical battle driven by local issues, alliances, and public sentiment.
Key candidates
The election fight has gained new momentum as Nilesh Rane, son of BJP MP Narayan Rane, representing the Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena faction, takes on the incumbent MLA Vaibhav Naik. Naik has successfully held the position for two consecutive terms in 2014 and 2019.
Other candidates in the race include Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Kalsalkar Ravindra Harishchandra, Maharashtra Swarajya Party's (MSP) Anantraj Nandkishor Patkar, and Independent candidate Ujwala Vijay Yelavikar.
The BJP is contesting the election in alliance with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s NCP and other smaller parties. On the other hand, in the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) are in alliance.
Kudal Assembly Constituency
The Kudal Assembly constituency is one of the 288 constituencies in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. It is constituency number 269 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The constituency is a general seat not reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-Ajit Pawar), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are the main parties in the state.
Kudal constituency, situated in Sindhudurg district, is one of the oldest settlements in the Konkan region. The area is renowned for its vibrant Alphonso mango market, with the fruit being exported to various cities across India and internationally.
Kudal Constituency Demographic Profile
As per data from the Election Commission, there were 2,160,08 voters in the Kudal constituency during the 2019 Assembly Elections. Out of this, 1,074,26 were male and 1,085,82 were female voters. No voter belonged to the third gender. 610 postal votes were cast in the constituency. The number of service voters in Kudal in 2019 was 168 (160 men and 8 women).
In 2014, the total number of voters in the Kudal constituency was 2,053,66. Out of this, 1,010,65 voters were male and 1,043,01 were female voters. There were 601 valid postal votes in the constituency. The number of service voters in Kudal in 2014 was 561 (352 men and 209 women).
What happened in the 2019 and 2014 Assembly Elections?
In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, Shiv Sena candidate Naik Vaibhav Vijay won the seat with a margin of votes (%). He was polled 69,168 votes with a vote share of 50.9%. He defeated Independent candidate Ranjit Dattatray Desai, who got 54,819 votes (40.34%). Congress candidate Arvind Namdeo Mondkar stood third with 3,527 votes (2.6%), and Independent candidate Balkrishna Vitthal Jadhav was in the fourth position with just 3,129 votes (2.3%). The total number of valid votes polled was 1,359,00 (62.91%).
In the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, Shiv Sena candidate Naik Vaibhav Vijay won the seat. He was polled 70,582 votes with a vote share of 50.03%. Congress candidate Narayan Tatu Rane got 60,206 votes (42.68%) and was the runner-up. Vijay defeated Rane by a margin of 10,376 votes (7.41%). The total number of valid votes polled in this constituency was 1,410,66 (68.69%).
