Sena vs Sena: Aaditya Thackeray to Face Milind Deora in High-Stakes Worli Showdown

Mumbai’s political landscape is heating up with a fierce face-off set for Worli, as Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) goes head-to-head with former Congress MP Milind Deora, who recently joined Eknath Shinde’s Sena faction. On Friday, sources confirmed the Shinde faction’s backing of Deora’s candidacy, a day after the Thackeray-led Sena announced Aaditya’s re-election bid for his stronghold seat.

Worli, though a Sena stronghold, also holds personal significance for Deora. The area lies within the Mumbai (South) Lok Sabha constituency, where Deora’s father, Murli Deora, won four elections between 1984 and 1991. Milind Deora himself won the seat twice, in 2004 and 2009, before the Sena’s Arvind Sawant claimed it in recent elections. In 2019, Aaditya Thackeray won his state Assembly seat from Worli with a significant 65% vote share, setting a high bar for challengers.

Shinde Faction’s Strategy and Challenges

Milind Deora, tasked by the Shinde faction with leading their Lok Sabha campaign earlier this year, saw a positive response, as Arvind Sawant’s margin of victory in Mumbai (South) shrank compared to 2019. However, Deora faces a considerable challenge with Aaditya’s strong 2019 showing. The tight competition in Worli, where Sawant edged out the Shinde faction’s candidate by under 7,000 votes in the Lok Sabha race, signals the potential for a closely contested battle.

Sandeep Deshpande of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has also entered the race, adding a third dimension. While the MNS refrained from contesting in 2019 to honor Aaditya’s electoral debut, the reduced vote margin from the Lok Sabha polls and MNS’s prior vote share in municipal elections could shift dynamics in their favor.

Aaditya Thackeray Confident of Support

Leading a rally as he filed his candidacy, Aaditya expressed confidence in his constituents’ loyalty, telling NDTV, “The people have realized the BJP is a party of hollow promises… they will stand against Eknath Shinde.”

Known for its luxury high-rises, Worli is also home to older chawls and delayed slum redevelopment projects. Stalled rehabilitation plans and unfulfilled promises to residents may become talking points for candidates looking to sway undecided voters.

The Maharashtra state election, set for November 20, follows a complex political history. After the 2019 BJP-Shiv Sena alliance crumbled over power-sharing disagreements, Uddhav Thackeray led a coalition with Congress and NCP. However, a 2021 rebellion by Shinde and a subsequent shift in alliances saw the BJP now joined by the Shinde faction of the Sena and NCP, intensifying the election narrative as these alliances prepare for a high-stakes battle.