Maharashtra polls: Shiv Sena (UBT) declares first list of 65 candidates; Aaditya, Rajan feature
The party has renominated 14 of its 15 sitting Members of the Legislative Assembly, including prominent figures Aaditya Thackeray and Sunil Prabhu
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) announced its first list of 65 candidates for the Maharashtra assembly election on Wednesday, proceeding with nominations despite pending seat-sharing discussions within the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
The party has renominated 14 of its 15 sitting Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), including prominent figures Aaditya Thackeray and Sunil Prabhu. Former Member of Parliament Rajan Vichare has been selected to contest from the Thane constituency.
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Notable among the sitting MLAs who secured renomination are Aaditya Thackeray (Worli), Sunil Prabhu (Dindoshi), Sanjay Potnis (Kalina), Prakash Fatarpekar (Chembur), Ramesh Korgaonkar (Bhandup West), Sunil Raut (Vikroli), Rutuja Latke (Andheri East), Vaibhav Nike (Kudal), Rajan Salvi (Rajapur), Bhaskar Jadhav (Guhagar), Kailash Patil (Osmanabad), Rahul Patil (Parbhani), Nitin Deshmukh (Balapur), and Udaysingh Rajput (Kannad).
The only sitting MLA absent from the first list is Ajay Chaudhari, who currently represents Shiwadi and serves as the party's group leader in the assembly. The party is reportedly considering Sudeer Salvi as an alternative candidate for this constituency.
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The list features several other significant nominations, including Kedar Dighe, who will challenge Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in the Kopari-Pachpakhadi constituency. Other notable candidates include Varun Sardesai from Vadre East, Snehal Jagtap from Mahad, Shankarrao Gadakh from Nevasa, Dilip Sopal from Barshi, Sanjay Kadam from Dapoli, K. P. Patil from Radhanagari, Rajan Teli from Sawantwadi, and Bal Mane from Ratnagiri.