Within a few hours, a clear picture of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra will emerge. There are eight crucial seats which will decide the future course of politics in the state. The prestige of Sharad Pawar, Nitin Gadkari, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and former home minister Sushilkumar Shinde are at stake.
After Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, which has the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats, holds the key to power at the Centre.
B is for Baramati — the most famous constituency of Maharashtra, the obvious reason being its status as the bastion of Sharad Pawar. His stronghold on the constituency was demonstrated in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.