The first phase of Lok Sabha elections covering seven constituencies in Maharashtra will see a tough contest between the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena and the opposition Congress-NCP alliances. The Congress is in a direct fight with the BJP in four of these constituencies and with the Shiv Sena in two others. Besides, the NCP is locked in a battle with the BJP in one seat.

There are 116 candidates in fray and over 1.30 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise at 14,919 polling centres. Of the total voters, 66.71 lakh are men, 63.64 lakh women, and 181 belong to the third gender category. Voting for 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. In the first phase, Wardha, Ramtek, Nagpur, Bhandara- Gondiya, Gadchiroli-Chimur, Chandrapur and Yavatmal-Washim constituencies will go to polls. In Nagpur, Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and Congress' Nana Patole, who quit the saffron party in 2017, are pitted against each other.