5 cornered fight in Maha

The acrimonious break ups in Maharashtra paved the way for a five cornered fight in the state. This will be the first elections in Maharashtra after established political formations -- Shiv Sena-BJP and Congress-NCP -- crumbled and the parties will be contesting alone after 15 years. Maharashtra will witness a five-cornered contest for the 288-member House. An electorate of about 8.25 crore can choose from 4,119 candidates in the fray, including 1,699 Independents. While Congress has fielded the largest number of 287 candidates, BJP 280 (including 23 of allies contesting on BJP symbol), Shiv Sena 282, NCP 278 and MNS 219. Congress and NCP had ruled the state for 15 continuous years from 1999.