The Shiv Sena Sindhis are in panic after the BJP announced seats for the assembly elections. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held a meeting with party workers from Thane, Kayandong and Murbad.
BJP leader Ganesh Naik got votes from Airoli, while his son Sandeep Naik wants to get from Belapur votes, but the seat has gone to incumbent Manda Mhatre. It will now be interesting to see what stance Sandeep Naik takes after this. In Dombivali, current BJP minister Ravindra Chavan has been nominated while local leader Dipesh Mhatre, who had earlier joined the Sindhi faction, has now been Join Shiv Sena (UBT).
Meanwhile, the BJP has given a ticket to Shulbha Gaikwad, wife of jailed MLA Ganpat Gaikwad. Ganpat Gaikwad fired at Sindhi officials at the police station. Now, it remains to be seen how the Shinde Group reacts to Shulbha Gaikwad’s candidature. The BJP has awarded tickets to two-time MLA candidates Vile Parle, Parag Alwani. Meanwhile, Mumbai BJP general secretary Sanjay Upadhyay is gearing up for this seat, while former minister Deepak Sawant has also expressed his desire to contest from here.
Wrestled 5 seats from Shiv Sena
The BJP has fielded candidates for five such seats, which the Shiv Sena contested and lost in 2019. An official from the Shiv Sena Shinde faction said the seat-sharing this time could be seen as the BJP capturing their political ground.
The five seats are:
nalasopara
Ulan
dule city
Acharpur
Deoli
In 2019, Shiv Sena candidate Pradeep Sharma had to face the defeat of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA)’s Kshitij Thakur in Narasopara. In Ulam, Shiv Sena’s Manohar Bhoir was defeated by independent Mahesh Baldi, who is now the BJP candidate. Shiv Sena leader Hilal Mali lost to Farooq Shah of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) in Dhul city. Shiv Sena’s Sunita Fiske defeated in Achalpur seat by Prahar Party chief Bachchu Kadu . In Deoli, Shiv Sena’s Sameer Deshmukh lost to Congress’ Ranjit Kamble. These seats can become a big challenge for the Shiv Sena Shinde faction and can have an impact on the political scenario of the party.
Let us tell you that among the grand alliances for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, only the BJP has announced its candidate list. Currently, the list of NCP candidates for Eknath Shinde from Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar is pending.
