Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, the centre of gravity is shifting towards the young and dynamic leaders of tomorrow. This year, the state polls will see quite a few young guns battling it out on October 21. A major battle will play out in the Worli assembly segment, where Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray is making his debut in electoral politics. From Beed, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran late Gopinath Munde's daughter Pankaja Munde will lock horns for supremacy against Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Dhanajay Munde. Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of Congress legislative party leader Radha Krishna Vikhe Patil, will contest on a BJP ticket from Ahmednagar. Let's take a look at their work so far: 

Aaditya Thackeray
The 29-year-old grandson of Shiv Sena founder, the late Bal Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray is the first member from the Thackeray family to enter the electoral fray after Shalini Thackeray, the wife of Jeetendra Thackeray, a cousin of MNS founder Raj Thackeray. Aaditya, a BA and LIB, is the son of Uddhav and Rashmi Thackeray and also the Yuva Sena chief. Ahead of polls, the party also launched the ‘Aaditya Samwad’ programme in August, where Sena leader Aaditya interacted with the youth of the state and answered their questions. The Sena cub, who actively participates in conversations on social media has spoken on a range of issues, including Aarey and the CSMT bridge collapse that killed over six people earlier this year. Hitting out at the Mumbai Metro authorities for felling trees in Aarey Colony, Aaditya came out in support of environmental activists who were detained or arrested for protesting against the felling of over 2,000 trees. “It would be a shame if we do that. I call out and request the Chief Minister to look into this and ask the police to not put any cases for people with love for the environment. We would be hypocritical then at the United Nations if we do this,” he had said. At the same time, he also received backlash, as his own party rules the BMC and ordered the felling of trees. During the bridge collapse, Aaditya had posted tweets promising action against those responsible, only to receive scathing replies that the Sena could not shrug off responsibility as the ruling party in BMC.