Short answers, pulled from the story.
Maharashtra occupies a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau in western India and stretches from 15°35' N to 22°02' N latitude and 72°36' E to 80°54' E longitude. The Western Ghats run parallel to the Arabian Sea coast creating a physical barrier on the western side that separates the Konkan coastal plains from the flat Deccan Plateau to the east.
The State of Bombay bifurcated into modern states of Maharashtra and Gujarat on the 1st of May 1960 following the United Maharashtra Movement. This division occurred after years of protests by Marathi-speaking peoples who demanded a separate state with Mumbai as capital under the banner of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti.
Maharashtra was ruled by the Maurya Empire during the fourth and third centuries BCE followed by the Satavahana dynasty which took control around 230 BCE and ruled for the next 400 years. Subsequent rulers included the Chalukya dynasty from the sixth to the eighth centuries CE and the Rashtrakuta dynasty which governed from the eighth to the tenth century.
The economy of Maharashtra is largest in India with gross state domestic product contributing about 14% of all-India nominal GDP. As of 2024, Maharashtra is richest state with projected GSDP of ₹42.67 lakh crore for 2024-25 fiscal year and houses headquarters of major corporate and financial institutions including the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Politics in Maharashtra at present dominated by four parties: Bharatiya Janata Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Indian National Congress and Shinde's Shiv sena. Sharad Pawar has been a towering personality for over forty years having split Congress twice before founding NCP in 1999.