Not all is well in the ruling Mahayuti alliance after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of 99 candidates for the Maharashtra elections. Shiv Sena workers have opposed BJP candidates in at least four seats including Kalyan East, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Murbad.
Local Shiv Sena workers in these assembly seats have threatened to not campaign for the BJP candidates. In Kalyan East, the BJP has nominated Sulabha Gaikwad, wife of sitting MLA Ganpat Gaikwad.
Gaikwad is currently lodged in jail for allegedly firing on Shiv Sena leader Mahesh Gaikwad inside a police station in Ulhas Nagar. Sena leaders have repeatedly opposed Sulabha Gaikwad's nomination since beginning.
They also staged a symbolic protest on Monday demanding that the Mahayuti leaders field another candidate from the Kalyan East assembly seat.
"The Kalyan East Assembly seat is a Shiv Sena bastion and only Shiv Sena's candidates must be fielded from here," The Indian Express quoted a Shinde Sena worker as saying.
Shiv Sena workers are also not pleased with the saffron party's decision to field Sanjay Kelkar in Thane, considered to be Shiv Sena supremo and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's stronghold. Besides this, they are also opposing the candidature of Ganesh Naik from Airoli in Navi Mumbai and Kishan Kathore from Murbad constituency.
Workers believe that Shinde Sena candidates should have been given tickets from all the three seats. A Shinde Sena leader, however, said that the party will make efforts to placate the disappointed workers and put the infighting under siege.
Meanwhile, the Shinde Sena on Tuesday late night announced its list of 45 candidates for the assembly polls. As per this list, Eknath Shinde will seek re-election from the Kopri-Panchpakhadi assembly seat in Thane.
Almost all those MLAs who backed Shinde when he revolted against Uddhav Thackeray in 2022 have been re-nominated. Gulabrao Patil has been given a ticket from the Jalgaon Rural seat whereas state minister Shambhuraj Desai has been fielded from Patan.
Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant has been fielded from Ratnagiri whereas his brother Kiran Samant has got a ticket from Rajapur. Former MLA Anandrao Adsul's son Abhijit Adsul has been nominated from Daryapur.
Assembly elections in Maharashtra will take place in a single phase on November 20 and the counting of votes will happen on November 23.