The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on April 3 announced four more candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Among the nominations is Vaishali Darekar-Rane, who will be contesting from the prominent Kalyan constituency, presently held by Shrikant Shinde, son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The Thackeray-led party has now announced candidates for a total of 21 seats in Maharashtra, as the State gears up for elections spread across five phases commencing on April 19.
In addition to Ms. Darekar-Rane, the former Chief Minister declared the candidature of Satyajit Patil, Bharti Kamdi, and Karan Pawar from Hatkanangale, Palghar, and Jalgaon constituencies, respectively.
The Sena (UBT) leader indicated that if Maha Vika Aghadi (MVA) ally Congress decides against contesting from the Mumbai North constituency, his party will field a candidate there. This move comes in response to the BJP nominating Union Minister Piyush Goyal for the same constituency.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, under the leadership of Mr. Shinde, has yet to announce its candidate for the Kalyan seat.
Ms. Darekar-Rane had previously contested from Kalyan seat in the 2009 general election on a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) ticket, finishing third with 1.02 lakh votes.
Mr. Karan Pawar’s selection came as a surprise, as he joined the Thackeray camp on the same day as current BJP MP Unmesh Patil.
Mr. Patil’s departure from the BJP occurred after being denied a ticket from Jalgaon, leading the party to field Smita Wagh in his place. Mr. Thackeray also made it clear that Shiv Sena (UBT) remains steadfast in its candidate selection for Sangli constituency, despite opposition from the Congress.
The nomination of Chandrahar Patil has stirred discontent within Congress, which sought to field Vishal Patil, grandson of former Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil, from the coveted Sangli seat.
Moreover, the Shiv Sena (UBT) conceded its traditional Kolhapur and Ramtek seats to Congress, signalling strategic adjustments within the coalition.
The grand old party expressed displeasure over Sena (UBT) fielding Mr. Thackeray’s close aide Anil Desai from the Mumbai South-Central constituency, a seat of interest for Congress.
Mr. Satyajit Patil’s candidacy from Hatkanangale is viewed as a setback to Raju Shetti of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, who sought Mr. Thackeray’s support in this constituency.
