Lok Sabha Election 2024: Shiv Sena releases list of 17 candidates

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut unveiled the party’s initial roster of 17 contenders for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday. Among them, Anil Desai is set to vie for the Mumbai South Central parliamentary constituency.

Raut mentioned that the Uddhav Thackeray-led party intends to compete for a total of 22 seats in the upcoming general elections, with the announcement of the remaining five candidates expected within the next day or two. Additionally, Raut noted that farmers’ leader Raju Shetti has sought the support of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Hatkanangale.

Out of the names disclosed on Wednesday, 11 had previously been revealed by party chief Uddhav Thackeray during his visits to the respective Lok Sabha constituencies last month.

The party has also reaffirmed the candidacy of all five incumbent MPs. Arvind Sawant, the sitting MP, will stand for election from the Mumbai South constituency, Sanjay Patil from Mumbai North East, and Amol Kirtikar from Mumbai North West. Rajan Vichare will contest from Thane, while Vinayak Raut has been nominated for Ratnagiri Sindhudurg. Additionally, sitting MPs Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani) and Omraje Nimbalkar (Osmanabad) have been renominated.

Shiv Sena will also be vying for the Aurangabad seat, with former MP Chandrakant Khaire being fielded.

Notably, wrestler Chandrahar Patil has been nominated for Sangli, a seat that the Congress, a member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, had been pushing for.

While the Congress has announced its candidates for some seats where there is no conflict with its alliance partners, the official declaration of candidates by another MVA constituent, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), is still pending for the Lok Sabha polls in April-May.

Maharashtra, with its 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80), is scheduled to vote in five phases starting from April 19.

The suspense over the candidate for the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, currently represented by MP Shrikant Shinde, persists. The party’s decision to nominate former MP Chandrakant Khaire has drawn attention to Ambadas Danve, the leader of Opposition in the legislative council, who was anticipating a party ticket. Speculation had arisen about Danve potentially joining the BJP or Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s party. However, Danve refuted such claims in local media, affirming his loyalty to Uddhav Thackeray.