With just a couple of candidates left to be declared for the Lok Sabha elections in the state, it appears that the two principal national parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, will be locked in 15 straight fights. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena will see 10 straight fights.

There are 48 seats in the state. On Monday, the BJP started its campaign with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies in the state from Vidarbha, where seven seats will go to polls on April 11. There will be three more phases in the state, with the last phase scheduled to be held on April 29, in which all seats in Mumbai and neighbouring regions will be decided.