Shiv Sena Announces First List of 45 Candidates for Elections

The Shiv Sena announced its first list of 45 candidates for the upcoming elections, re-nominating sitting MLAs and ministers who had supported Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during the party’s internal dispute. The late-night announcement confirmed that Shinde would once again contest from Kapri-Pachpakhari. Other key figures in the list include ministers like Gulabrao Patil (Jalgaon Rural), Sanjay Rathore (Digras), Abdul Sattar (Silod), Dadaji Bhuse (Bahri Malegaon), Tanaji Sawant (Paranda), Shambhuraj Desai (Patan), Uday Samant (Ratnagiri), and Deepak Kesarkar (Savantwadi). Following the election of former minister Sandeepan Bhamre to the Lok Sabha from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously Aurangabad), his son, Vilas Bhamre, has been nominated to contest from the Paithan seat.

Amid ongoing seat-sharing negotiations with allies BJP and NCP, Shiv Sena is striving to secure at least 80 seats. With social and political dynamics at play, the first candidate list also took into account factors such as ongoing protests by Maratha and OBC reservation supporters. Significantly, the announcement coincided with the first day of the nomination period, which will remain open until October 29, with voting scheduled for November 20.

The list also brought new names into the political fold. Industries Minister Uday Samant’s brother, Kiran Sawant, was named as a candidate for the Rajapur seat, as Kiran had expressed his intention to enter politics. Furthermore, Suhas Babar, the son of recently deceased party MLA Anil Babar, was nominated for the Khanpur seat.

Other notable candidates included Manjula Gavit for Sakri ST, Chandrakant Sonawane for Chopra ST, and Amol Chimanrao Patil for Arandol, replacing his father, Chimanrao Patil, who is a sitting MLA. Candidates like Sanjay Gaikwad (Buldhana), Sanjay Raimulkar (Mehkar SC), and Abhijeet Adsul (Dariapurkar SC), son of former Union Minister Anandrao Adsul, are also in the fray. Ashish Jaiswal (Ramtech) and Narendra Bhondekar (Bhandara SC), who had both won as independents in the 2019 elections, were re-nominated.

In addition, Arjun Khotkar, who previously lost the Jalna seat to a Congress candidate, has been given another chance. The list also included other important figures such as Pradeep Jaiswal (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Central), Sanjay Shirsat (recently the Chairman of City and Industrial Development Corporation), Ramesh Bornare (Vaijapur), and Pratap Sarnaik (Ovala Majiwara), a close associate of CM Shinde.

The lineup is rounded out by candidates like Prakash Surve (Malthane), Manish Waikar (Jogeshwari East), Dilip Lande (Chandivali), Mangesh Kudalkar (Kurla SC), Sada Sarvankar (Mahim), Yamani Jadhav (Mumbai South), Mahendra Thorve (Finance), Mahendra Dalvi (Alibaug), Bharat Gogawle (MAHAD), Shahji Patil (Sangola), Mahesh Shinde (Koregaon), Yogesh Kadam (Dapoli), Prakash Abitkar (Radhanagari), and Chandradeep Narke (Karveer).