Mumbai: Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, released its first list of candidates for the state assembly elections. The party announced the names of 45 candidates, including several important leaders.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde will contest from his usual seat in Kopri-Pachpakhadi, Thane. This seat has been a stronghold for him for many years, so his decision to run from there was expected.
Who will contest from Mumbai?
In the Mahim constituency in Mumbai, a big contest is brewing. Amit Thackeray, the son of MNS chief Raj Thackeray, will face Sada Sarvankar, who is from Shinde’s faction.
Many people are closely watching this contest, as Amit Thackeray is a young and emerging political figure. Sarvankar, an experienced politician, adds further challenge to this interesting race.
Several other leaders from the Shinde camp are also running in important constituencies. Uday Samant, a loyal supporter of Shinde, will contest from Ratnagiri, while his brother Kiran Samant will fight for the Rajapur seat.
Yogesh Kadam, son of former Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam, will run for the Dapoli seat. Manisha Vaikar, wife of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Vaikar, is the candidate for Jogeshwari East.
Most of the candidates in this list supported Eknath Shinde when he led the rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray in June 2022. These candidates have been given tickets again.
Other candidates
Some of Shinde’s cabinet ministers are also running for election from their usual seats. Gulabrao Patil will contest from Jalgaon Rural, Deepak Kesarkar from Sawantwadi, Abdul Sattar from Sillod, and Shambhuraj Desai from Patan. Another key minister, Dada Bhuse, will run from Malegaon Outer in Nashik district.
The list also includes candidates from well-known political families. Suhas Babar, son of late MLA Anil Babar, will run from Khanapur in Sangli district. Abhijit Adasul, son of former Union Minister Anand Adasul, will contest from Daryapur in Amravati district. Vilas Bhumre, son of MP Sandipan Bhumre, will run from Paithan in Aurangabad district.
With this list, Shiv Sena becomes the second major party to announce its candidates for Maharashtra assembly elections, following Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which released its list of 99 candidates last week. However, the ruling alliance, Mahayuti—which includes BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP—has not yet announced how the seats will be shared between them.
