The Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena has officially released its inaugural list of candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde himself will contest from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency, as confirmed by a party notification.
Key Candidates Announced
In addition to Shinde, the list includes several notable candidates. Sadanand Shankar Sarvankar will represent the party from the Mahim seat in Mumbai, facing off against Amit Thackeray, the son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. Other candidates featured in the list are:
Manisha Ravindra Wayakar: Contesting from Jogeshwari (East), she is the wife of MP Ravindra Waikar.
Dilip Bhausaheb Lande: Running for the Chandivali seat.
Mangesh Anant Kudalkar: Fielded from Kurla.
Yamini Yashwant Jadhav: Candidate for the Byculla Assembly seat.
Additionally, Kiran Samrat, brother of Maharashtra Minister of Industries Uday Samant, has been nominated for the Rajapur Assembly constituency.
Coalition Dynamics
The Shinde faction’s candidate list follows a recent seat-sharing agreement with its partners in the Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). This collaboration is crucial as all parties gear up for the Assembly elections scheduled for November 20, with counting set for November 23.
According to sources, the seat-sharing deal allocates approximately 152-155 seats to the BJP, 78-80 seats to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and 52-54 seats to Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Notably, the Ajit Pawar faction has yet to announce its first list of candidates.
BJP Candidates Also Announced
The BJP released its own list of 99 candidates shortly before the Shinde faction, with key figures including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis contesting from the Nagpur South West seat, and state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule from Kamthi.
Among other prominent candidates from the BJP are Ram Kadam (Ghatkopar West), Shweta Mahale Patil (Chikli), Sreejaya Ashok Chavan (Bhokar), Nitish Rane (Kankavli), Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil (Shirdi), Chandrakant Patil (Kothrud), Ashish Shelar (Vandre West), and Santosh Danve, son of ex-Union Minister Raosaheb Danve, from Bhokardan.
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