Maharashtra polls: In 53 seats, it’s Sena vs Sena, but which is the ‘real’ party? | Mumbai news

Mumbai: Which is the real Shiv Sena? For Uddhav Thackeray, son of the party’s founder Bal Thackeray, and Eknath Shinde, the challenger, the final verdict will be handed down by the people’s court on November 20.

The upcoming elections are the first assembly polls after Shinde split the party two and half years ago. Although the Supreme Court is yet to pronounce its verdict on the plea challenging the Maharashtra Speaker’s order declaring the Shinde-led Sena as the “real political party”, the two Senas have been vying for the legacy of the party, founded in Mumbai almost 60 years ago.

The two factions, one led by Shinde and the Shiv Sena (UBT) of Uddhav Thackeray, are pitted against each other in 53 of the 288 assembly constituencies across the state. Of these 53, 44 are sitting MLAs, who won the 2019 election as candidates of the undivided Sena. They will now go head-to-head with the rival faction.

In 2019, the undivided Sena won 56 seats in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Of these, 41 MLAs went with Shinde when he fractured the party, while 15 remained with Thackeray. In this election, Thackeray has fielded 96 candidates, including all 15 sitting MLAs who stayed loyal to him. On the other hand, chief minister Shinde has fielded 78 candidates and renominated all his sitting MLAs except Shrinivas Vanga from Palghar. Since MLAs Ravindra Waikar and Sandipan Bhumre were elected to the Lok Sabha, Shinde has given tickets to their family members, in Jogeshwari East and Paithan, respectively. Both candidates will be challenged by the Sena (UBT).

Among the 53 seats, all eyes are on Kopri-Pachpakhadi in Thane, for it is Shinde’s home turf. Here, he’s taking on the Sena (UBT)’s Kedar Dighe, nephew of Shinde’s mentor and former Shiv Sena leader, the late Anand Dighe.

A blockbuster Sena vs Sena battle is playing out in Worli, where Shinde has fielded MP Milind Deora against MLA Aaditya Thackeray, son of Uddhav Thackeray. In the Mahim constituency, birthplace of the Sena, sitting MLA Sada Sarvankar from the Shinde faction will challenge Mahesh Sawant from the Sena (UBT).

A total 44 MLAs from both sides, who won as candidates of the undivided Sena, will have to face a challenge from the other Sena now. Of the 53 seats, which will see a Sena vs Sena battle, 20 are from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, a bastion of the party. In the Konkan, another traditional Sena bastion, the two factions will contest each other in six constituencies.

Besides giving tickets to sitting MLAs, both factions have fielded three sitting MLAs who were elected as Independents in 2019. Among them is Sena (UBT) candidate and MLA Shankarrao Gadakh from Nevasa, who has remained loyal to Thackeray as an associate member of the party since the split. Shinde has given tickets to MLA Ashish Jaiswal from Ramtek and MLA Raja Raut from Barshi.

In many constituencies, both factions have imported leaders from other parties like the Congress, BJP, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), who joined the Sena factions with an eye on assembly tickets. This includes Sena (UBT) candidates such as Snehal Jagtap from Mahad, Sanjay Kadam from Dapoli, Rajan Teli from Sawantwadi, Jayshree Shelke from Buldhana, Advay Hire from Malegaon Outer, Deepak Salunkhe from Sangola, K P Patil from Radhanagari, Suresh Bankar from Sillod, Bal Mane from Ratnagiri, and Siddharth Kharat from Mehekar.

For his part, Shinde has fielded Nilesh Rane from Kudal, Sanjana Jadhav from Kannad, and Muraji Patel from Andheri East, all of whom have crossed over from the BJP.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the two Senas went up against each other in 13 constituencies – Shinde’s Sena won seven seats, and Thackeray won six. The assembly elections are a much larger battleground and an opportunity for the two factions to prove their control over party workers, the party’s votebank and its very legacy.