Huge crowds attended the road show where Shrikant Shinde and other Mahayuti leaders were seen waving at their supporters in Kalyan

Meanwhile, the ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra has almost sealed the seat-sharing deal bringing clarity over 47 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. BJP will mostly likely get the remaining Palghar seat, said insiders from the saffron party and Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday announced its candidates for Kalyan, Thane and Nashik, freezing its numbers at 15. After he broke away from the original Shiv Sena in June 2022, Shinde had received the support of 13 party MPs

Under the seat-sharing arrangement, BJP has so far agreed to contest in 27 seats, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP will field its candidates in four constituencies

Earlier, the BJP was reportedly keen on contesting the Thane seat and had opposed the renomination of Sena MP Hemant Godse from the Nashik constituency

With the Thane seat in Sena's kitty, Shinde has announced former Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske as his party candidate from there. His son and incumbent MP Shrikant Shinde will contest from Kalyan