Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Wednesday launched its first checklist of 17 candidates for Maharashtra — together with within the contentious seats of Sangli and Mumbai South Central, the place ally Congress additionally needs to subject its personal candidates.
With a lot of the MPs of the erstwhile undivided Shiv Sena having sided with the occasion led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde following the break up in 2022, the newest checklist reveals that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) has needed to fall again on former public representatives — ex-MPs, MLAs and mayors.
Since 2014, Sangli, as soon as thought of a Congress bastion, has been represented by Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) MP Sanjaykaka Patil. Whereas the Congress continues to insist on the seat, the Shiv Sena has up to now refused to budge, asserting wrestler Chandrahar Patil as its candidate for the seat. This, in line with sources within the Congress, may result in a “friendly contest” there.
“The issue will now be resolved at the Delhi (central) leadership level, most likely by Wednesday itself. Otherwise, there will be a triangular contest between the BJP, us, and the Shiv Sena (UBT). In a bilateral contest, we were confident about winning it. Now it is a risk,” a senior Congress chief instructed ThePrint on the situation of anonymity.
Mumbai South Central, at the moment represented by Rahul Shewale of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, is a equally contested seat. In line with occasion sources, the Congress needs to subject its Mumbai president and former Maharashtra minister Varsha Gaikwad from there however the Shiv Sena (UBT) has now introduced Anil Desai, a confidant of Thackeray whose Rajya Sabha time period ended this yr, as its candidate for the seat.
The event comes at a time when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — a coalition whose members embrace the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Occasion (Sharadchandra Pawar) — has been rocked by critical disagreements over seat-sharing. The alliance has up to now not introduced its system for Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats.
When requested, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut instructed reporters that “such things happen” in an alliance, including that these dynamics wouldn’t have an effect on the MVA. “We had a sitting MP in Ramtek but the Congress candidate has even filed a nomination. So it’s fine. Alliances work like this,” he mentioned. Ramtek MP Krupal Tumane is now a part of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Nonetheless, Congress legislative occasion chief Balasaheb Thorat has expressed his displeasure on the Shiv Sena (UBT) checklist, saying the ally ought to have prevented contentious seats like Sangli and Mumbai, about which discussions have been nonetheless ongoing.
“It is important that everyone should follow the coalition dharma. We hope that the Sena will rethink its decision,” he mentioned in a media assertion.
Additionally Learn: Gadkari, Goyal, Mungantiwar & Pankaja — BJP pitches its strongest in 1st Maharashtra checklist
Shiv Sena UBT checklist
The 17 seats for which the Shiv Sena (UBT) has introduced its candidates are unfold throughout three areas — Mumbai, Konkan, and Marathwada.
Of the 18 MPs that the previously undivided Shiv Sena had within the seventeenth and present Lok Sabha, solely 5 are at the moment with the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) whereas the remainder have gone to Shinde’s occasion.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has retained all 5 of those MPs — former heavy industries and public enterprises minister Arvind Sawant from Mumbai South, Omraje Nimbalkar from Dharashiv, Vinayak Raut from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Rajan Vichare from Shinde’s dwelling floor Thane, and Sanjay Jadhav from Parbhani in Marathwada.
In Maval, a stronghold of the undivided Shiv Sena at the moment represented by Shinde camp chief Shrirang Barne, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has determined to subject former Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Sanjog Waghere Patil. Barne had defeated Parth Pawar — the son of now-deputy CM Ajit Pawar — to win the seat within the 2019 common election.
Hadgaon MLA Nagesh Patil Ashtikar will combat from Marathwada’s Hingoli whereas former MP Chandrakant Khaire will as soon as once more contest in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar — previously Aurangabad. In 2019, Khaire was overwhelmed by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and present MP Imtiaz Jaleel.
In the meantime, the occasion has determined to prop up former Shirdi MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure from the seat. Wakchaure, who gained the seat in 2009, defected to the Congress in 2014 and finally moved to the BJP, till he was expelled from the occasion in 2019.
In August 2023, he rejoined the Thackeray-led occasion.
The others who’ve been fielded are former unbiased MLA from Digras Sajay Deskhmukh (Yavatmal-Washim in Vidarbha), former Sinnar MLA Rajabhau Waje (Nashik), former MPs Anant Geete (Raigad) and Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East). Whereas Geete misplaced Raigad to Sunil Tatkare of the NCP in 2019, Patil is a former NCP MP from Mumbai North East who switched to the Shiv Sena in 2019.
The seats of rivalry — Sangli, Mumbai South Central
Mumbai South Central is a vital Sena stronghold, comprising the largely Marathi-speaking space of Dadar, the place the Sena Bhawan is positioned, and the upscale space of Shivaji Park, one other stronghold.
Right here, the occasion has determined to prop up former Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai, who will now make his debut in electoral politics.
In 2019, Rahul Shewale, a Dalit chief from the undivided Sena (now a part of the Shinde camp) gained the seat. The phase, which additionally includes areas of Dharavi, has a big Dalit presence.
In the meantime, Sangli has been a significant bone of rivalry between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress on this election.
Whereas the Congress is trying to regain management of a seat it misplaced in 2019, the Sena (UBT) needs the seat to mark its presence in western Maharashtra, the place most seats have gone to its allies.
On Wednesday, the occasion, which has repeatedly endorsed Chandrahar Patil for the seat, introduced his identify. The choice, nevertheless, has left the Congress sad.
“There was anti-incumbency in that seat. We have a strong local presence in Sangli, which is why we were insisting on that seat. The Sena doesn’t. This is like us claiming a seat in Konkan where we don’t have a unit,” one other senior Congress chief mentioned. In each circumstances, Congress leaders in Maharashtra are looking for intervention by the occasion excessive command in Delhi.
The primary Congress chief, quoted earlier, mentioned, “There is indeed a contest between the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Sangli, it will merely be to determine who has greater strength there. The alliance will remain unaffected.”
Different seats
One other contentious seat is Mumbai North West, which the Congress’s Sanjay Nirupam has been claiming and which has gone to the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Amol Kirtikar. The choice got here after a consensus between the allies.
Nirupam, a former Rajya Sabha MP and ex-president of the Mumbai Congress, referred to as a press convention to voice his displeasure Wednesday.
“The Shiv Sena should not take an extreme stand. This will cause a huge loss to the Congress. I want to attract the attention of Congress leadership to intervene, and, if not, break the alliance to save the party. The decision to have an alliance with Shiv Sena will prove self-destructive for Congress,” he mentioned.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Additionally Learn: ‘On expected lines’ — Uddhav Thackeray to go to ‘people’s court docket’ on Speaker’s ruling on ‘real’ Shiv Sena