A riveting electoral battle is shaping up in Thane where Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has declared the candidature of Sena veteran late Anand Dighe’s nephew Kedar Dighe against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Notably, Shinde hails late Dighe as his political mentor, emphasising his loyalty to the ideology of Bal Thackeray while targeting his arch rival Uddhav.
Kedar Dighe, who heads the Thane district unit of Shiv Sena (UBT), will face off against Shinde in the latter’s home constituency Kopri-Pachpakhadi.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday evening released its first list of 65 candidates for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.
Former MP and Uddhav Thackeray loyalist Rajan Vichare has been fielded from the Thane assembly constituency against sitting BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar. A triangular contest is on the cards in this constituency with the MNS giving a ticket to Avinash Jadhav.
Former deputy mayor Naresh Manera is the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s pick from the Ovala-Majiwada segment in the limits of Thane city against Shinde Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik.
In Kalyan Rural constituency in Thane district, Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee and former legislator Subhash Bhoir will clash swords with sitting MNS MLA Raju Patil.
CM Shinde is likely to file his nomination papers on October 28, said Thane MP Naresh Mhaske, who is overseeing the poll preparations.
Shinde has been winning from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency since 2009 as Shiv Sena (undivided) candidate.
In the 2019 polls, he defeated Sanjay Ghadigaonkar of Congress by a margin of over 89,000 votes.
Pratap Sarnaik, who sided with Shinde when the latter rebelled against Uddhav in June 2022, won the Ovala-Majiwada segment on three consecutive terms in 2009, 2014, and 2019.
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