Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut unveiled the party’s inaugural list of 17 candidates for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday. Anil Desai is set to contest from the Mumbai South Central parliamentary constituency. Raut mentioned that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party plans to vie for a total of 22 seats in the general elections, with the remaining five names slated for announcement in the next day or two. Additionally, Raut highlighted that in Hatkanangale, farmers’ leader Raju Shetti has sought the backing of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Of the individuals disclosed on Wednesday, 11 were previously named by party chief Uddhav Thackeray during his recent visits to respective Lok Sabha constituencies over the past month. The party has also reaffirmed the candidacy of all five incumbent MPs. Arvind Sawant, the current MP, will contest from the Mumbai South constituency, while Sanjay Patil and Amol Kirtikar will represent Mumbai North East and Mumbai North West constituencies, respectively. Rajan Vichare will vie for Thane, and Vinayak Raut has secured a ticket from Ratnagiri Sindhudurg. Moreover, sitting MPs Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani) and Omraje Nimbalkar (Osmanabad) have been renominated.
Furthermore, the party is set to compete in Aurangabad, with former MP Chandrakant Khaire slated to run in the constituency. Notably, wrestler Chandrahar Patil has been nominated for Sangli, a seat that the Congress, an MVA partner, was keen on contesting.
While the Congress has declared its candidates in some constituencies without conflict with its alliance partners, the NCP (Sharad Pawar), another MVA constituent, has yet to officially announce its candidates for the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Maharashtra, with 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80), will hold elections in five phases commencing from April 19.
The spotlight now shifts to the candidate from the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, presently represented by MP Shrikant Shinde, the son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. With the party granting a ticket to former MP Chandrakant Khaire, attention is drawn to Ambadas Danve, the leader of the Opposition in the legislative council, who was anticipating a party nomination. Speculation arose that Danve might join the BJP or Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s party, though Danve refuted such claims in local media and affirmed his allegiance to Uddhav Thackeray.