After the recently conducted Maharashtra assembly polls, a total of 78 first-time winners will enter the Maharashtra assembly. With this, the first-time MLAs will make up around 27 per cent of the state assembly's strength.
Out of these 78 first-timers, 33 are from the BJP, 14 from the Shinde Sena, and 9 from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. While Shiv Sena (UBT) has 10 newcomers, the Congress has 6 first-time MLAs and NCP (SP) has 4.
From smaller parties, there are two first-time assembly poll winners. An independent candidate will also make his debut in the Vidhan Sabha.
Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis' personal assistant Sumit Wankhede will be among the first-timer MLAs. Wankhede contested the assembly elections from Arvi and won by a margin of 39,574 votes. He bagged over 1.01 lakh votes and a vote share of 52.64 per cent.
Uddhav Thackeray's nephew Varun Sardesai is also among the notable first-timers who will enter the state assembly. Sardesai trounced NCP's Zeeshan Siddique in the Vandre East assembly constituency by a margin of 11,365 votes.
Varun Sardesai polled a total of 57,515 votes and a vote share of 42.26 per cent.
Former chief minister Ashok Chavan's daughter Sreejaya Chavan also won from the Chavan family stronghold of Bhokar. In her blockbuster electoral debut, Sreejaya won by a margin of 50,551 votes against Congress' Tirupati Kadam Kondhekar.
She secured over 1.31 lakh votes and scored a vote share of 57.08 per cent. NCP leader Nawab Malik's daughter Sana Malik is yet another notable entrant into the Vidhan Sabha.
Sana Malik won from the Anushakti Nagar assembly constituency in Mumbai by a margin of 3,378 votes. Malik defeated Swara Bhaskar's husband and NCP(SP)'s Fahad Ahmad by securing 49,341 votes and a vote share of 33.78 per cent.
Among other notable first-timers are Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Mahesh Sawant, Manoj Jamsutkar, Anant Nar, and Haroon Khan; BJP's Sanjay Upadhyay and Atul Bhosale; BJP leader Babanrao Pachpute's son Vikram; Congress' Jyoti Gaikwad; Shiv Sena MLA Anil Babar’s son Suhas; Aurangabad MP Sandipan Bhumre’s son Vilas; and ex-MLA Chimanrao Patil's son Amol.