Why ruling alliance in Maharashtra is grappling to name its candidates on 7 seats

With hardly a month left for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 20, which will be the last phase for Maharashtra, the ruling NDA partners find themselves engaged in a tussle over seven constituencies in the state.

Among these contentious Lok Sabha seats are Mumbai South, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North Central, Thane, Nashik, Palghar, and Sambhajinagar. Incidentally, Thane is the home turf of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his Shiv Sena faction is no mood to give up the seat for either the BJP or the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

Voicing resentment, a Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader attributed the confusion in the ruling alliance to the fact that the BJP was staking its claim on traditional Shiv Sena seats such as Thane, Kalyan, Palghar and Nashik. There is a strong feeling in the party that Shinde has already ceded space to the BJP by making concessions like leaving Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat for Union minister Narayan Rane and Amravati seat for BJP’s Navneet Rana. The Shinde faction leaders are also apprehensive that the delay in sealing seat-sharing deal will damage their poll prospects and work to the advantage of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which has already resolved these issues.

1. Thane: The BJP and the Shinde-led Sena have locked horns over Thane even as sitting Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Rajan Vichare has already begun his campaign.

Thane holds great significance for the Shinde faction as the Thane Municipal Corporation was the first civic body captured by the undivided Shiv Sena. Though the Lok Sabha constituency was with the BJP in the 1990s, Shiv Sena gradually took over the seat and turned it into its stronghold in the following years.

The BJP initially staked its claim on Kalyan Lok Sabha seat, from where CM Shinde’s son Shrikant is the sitting MP, making a proposal to shift him to Thane. However, Shinde remained adamant on not leaving either Kalyan or Thane, following which Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced Shrikant Shinde’s name from Kalyan.

Now, the names of former NCP MP Sanjeev Naik (now with BJP), Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik, former Thane Mayor Naresh Mhaske and former MLC Ravindra Phatak are doing the rounds.

2. Nashik: Shinde faction MP Hemant Godse was eyeing re-nomination from the seat, but the BJP wanted cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal to contest as he is the face of OBCs.

However, Bhujbal declared on Friday that he was withdrawing from the Nashik constituency race in order to resolve the stalemate in the ruling alliance. Though he said that he would continue to campaign for NDA candidates, the minister is said to be upset at the delay in announcing his name as a candidate.

Bhujbal’s announcement has put the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in a spot, as his opting out also means that the party could lose the Nashik seat to the Shiv Sena, and, if this happens, the party will end up contesting only four of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra as against the 12 seats that it was seeking as an alliance partner.

Meanwhile, miffed over these political developments, Godse started campaigning and told supporters that he will contest as an independent. However, after Bhujbal’s move, Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat says the ticket will be given either to Godse or Ajay Boraste, the party’s city chief in Nashik.

3. Mumbai South: While Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has already fielded its sitting MP Arvind Sawant from the constituency, the ruling alliance is yet to take a call as both the BJP and the Shinde-led Sena are eyeing the seat.

BJP is contemplating two names – Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar and cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha. If Shiv Sena gets the seat, it is likely to field Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora, who recently quit the Congress to join the Shinde faction. He has represented the constituency twice. However, if BJP decides to hand over the seat to Raj Thackeray’s MNS, Bala Nandgaonkar could be the likely candidate.

4. Mumbai North Central: Though the BJP has Poonam Mahajan as its sitting MP from the constituency, her candidature remains uncertain.

The delay is being attributed to an internal survey of the party that has revealed Mahajan as a weak candidate. The BJP is seriously contemplating two names: Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar and Andheri West MLA Ameet Satam.

5. Mumbai North West: Sitting Shinde faction MP Gajanan Kirtikar declined to contest, as Shiv Sena (UBT) fielded his son Amol from this constituency. Both BJP and Shiv Sena are keen on the seat.

The BJP considered names of actors Sharad Ponkshe and Sachin Khedekar, but both of them rejected the offer. CM Shinde’s proposal to field Bollywood actor Govinda faced opposition from BJP’s Ram Naik, citing alleged underworld links. Moreover, surveys don’t indicate a favourable response for him. Interestingly, former Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam has his eyes on it and is willing to join Shinde-led Sena if he is promised the seat.

6. Palghar: The ruling alliance is facing a peculiar situation in this constituency. The Shinde faction is not keen on repeating its sitting MP Rajendra Gavit, which has strained ties between the Sena and the BJP over the issue. Incidentally, Gavit was a Congressman who joined BJP and won the Lok Sabha bypoll. In 2019, BJP gave the seat to Sena, and allowed Gavit to join the party.

7. Sambhajinagar: It is the lone constituency in Maharashtra having a sitting MP from AIMIM, Imtiyaaz Jaleel.

Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded its senior leader Chandrakant Khaire who lost to Jaleel in 2019. Since the seat was with the Shiv Sena, the Shinde faction has staked its claim on it, but BJP wants to nominate Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently announced that the next MP from the constituency will be from the BJP. However, CM Shinde told his supporters that only the Shiv Sena candidate would contest from the seat.