Clock ticking, ruling alliance in Maharashtra yet to announce candidates on five seats
The BJP and the Shinde Sena are at loggerheads over Thane, the home turf of CM Shinde, as both of them have staked a claim on the seat
With hardly three days left for the last date of nominations for fifth and final phase of Lok Sabha in Maharashtra, the ruling alliance of BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is yet to declare its candidates on five seats amid a power tussle between the two parties.
The seats where the alliance is yet to declare candidates are Nashik, Palghar, Kalyan, Thane, and Mumbai South constituencies. However, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) have announced candidates for 47 out of 48 seats in the state, leaving only Mumbai North constituency undecided.
As of now, the BJP is contesting on 27 seats, Shinde-led Shiv Sena on 10 and Ajit Pawar-led NCP on four seats. Two phases of elections for 10 seats of Vidarbha and three seats of Marathwada concluded on April 19 and 26.
Fighting for home turf
As per media reports, the two alliance partners are at loggerheads over Thane, the home turf of Chief Minister Shinde, as both of them have staked a claim on the constituency. However, following the intervention of the top BJP leadership in Delhi, the party has finally conceded Thane constituency to Shinde’s party with the condition that the candidate “has to be approved by the BJP”.
The BJP was keen on fielding Sanjeev Naik from Thane but Shiv Sena argued that the chief minister just could not afford to give up his home turf for its alliance partner. In 2019, Thane was won by Rajan Vichare of undivided Shiv Sena who has since then remained loyal to Shiv Sena UBT and filed his nomination papers on Monday.
Bhujbal pulls out in Nashik
Another constituency that is witnessing a bitter tussle is Nashik in North Maharashtra where Shinde-led Sena is insisting on contesting the seat as it has a sitting MP, Hemant Godse.
However, Ajit Pawar-led NCP claimed the seat and decided to field its senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal. The BJP was fine with Bhujbal’s candidature as the party believed it would help consolidate OBC vote bank. After getting nod from his party, Bhujbal had started work in the constituency. But Shinde Sena made it clear that it was not going to part with Nashik seat. With no signs of official announcement regarding the seat, Bhujbal has declared his withdrawal from the race.
A visibly upset Bhujbal told media, “I am deeply hurt… I was made to believe that I had to contest. But the unwarranted delay in formal announcement and internal feud in the alliance have disappointed me. So, I have withdrawn from the contest. Now, let them do what they want.”
No official word on Kalyan
Similarly, the ruling alliance is yet to make a formal announcement regarding its candidate in Kalyan constituency. This despite the fact that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last month announced that sitting Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of CM Shinde, would be their candidate from Kalyan seat. However, Shrikant has been aggressively campaigning in the constituency where BJP-Sena ties have not been cordial.
The Shinde-led Sena has also been eyeing the tribal Palghar constituency, contending that it has sitting MP Rajendra Gavit. However, the BJP says that Palghar was given to undivided Shiv Sena in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and therefore, it has rightful claim over the constituency.
Slugging it out in Mumbai
The high profile Mumbai South constituency saw both the BJP and the Shinde Sena driving a hard bargain. In 2019, undivided Shiv Sena (MP) Arvind Sawant won this constituency. Sawant has remained loyal to Shiv Sena (UBT), which has nominated him this time, too. There are four contenders from the two parties for this seat --- Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar and cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha from the BJP, and Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora and former corporate Yashwant Jadhav (or his wife Yamini Jadhav) from the Shinde camp.
Meanwhile, the Shinde Sena named its candidate from Mumbai North West seat on Tuesday. It has fielded Ravindra Waikar, who recently quit the Thackeray faction, to join the Shinde camp. He has been pitted against Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Amol Kiritkar, son of sitting Sena MP Gajanan Kiritkar. However, the road ahead seems tough for Waikar as the BJP cadre will find it difficult to campaign for him, as they had levelled corruption charges against him in the past.
The polling for 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra is being held in five phases that began on April 19 and will end May 20. Two phases of polling for 13 seats are already over. The nomination for third and fourth phases for 21 seats is complete. In the final phase on May 20, 13 seats will go to polls.
