Will enter fray from Mumbai North East, which united Sena had never done; leader says it has suitable candidate
Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic/Atul Kamble
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has decided to contest four of the city’s six Lok Sabha constituencies. According to sources, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party will contest the Mumbai South, South Central, North West and North East seats. In 2014, the undivided Shiv Sena contested all but the last constituency. The North East constituency, which it is now eyeing, encompasses the eastern suburbs from Vidyavihar to Mulund. “Although the Shiv Sena never fought an election from the North East constituency, we have a suitable candidate,” said a party leader.
The leader added, “Our party chief will discuss the sharing of seats with the other members of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). In 2014, we won three seats. We are sure these voters will continue to opt for us. As we have a strong candidate for Mumbai North East, we have decided to contest this seat. We will discuss our stand with our allies.”
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Thackeray, who has been reviewing the situation across constituencies in the state, took stock of the North Mumbai and Aurangabad Lok Sabha seats on Wednesday. During a meeting with the local leader, Thackeray decided that no candidate would be fielded from Mumbai North but the party would contest the Aurangabad seat. Former MP Chandrakant Khaire won four times from the latter constituency.
However, he was defeated by AIMIM’s Imtiyaz Jaleel in 2019. Of the three undivided Shiv Sena leaders who became MPs in 2014, only one—Arvind Sawant, who represents Mumbai South—is with Thackeray’s faction; Rahul Shewale and Gajanan Kirtikar, who represent Mumbai South Central and North West respectively, are part of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s camp.
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