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Sanjay Nirupam's ‘all options open’ warning as trouble mounts for MVA after Shiv Sena (UBT) list
Sanjay Nirupam is upset over the Shiv Sena (UBT) declaring Amol Kirtikar's name as its candidate from Mumbai North West constituency.
Former Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam on Wednesday expressed his displeasure over the Shiv Sena (UBT) declaring Amol Kirtikar's name as its candidate from the Mumbai North West constituency for the Lok Sabha elections and warning that he was “open to all the options”.
“I will wait for a week for the Congress leadership to take a decision after which I am open to all the options,” Sanjay Nirupam said at a press conference.
From Mumbai North-West, the Shiv Sena (UBT) nominated Amol Kirtikar, son of Shiv Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar, who owes allegiance to Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Sena.
Sanjay Nirupam was looking to contest the seat as the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate and has also asked the Congress to snap its ties with the Shiv Sena (UBT) for taking arbitrary decisions for Mumbai and Sangli seats.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Shiv Sena (UBT), a constituent of the opposition MVA, released its first list of 17 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, and said it will contest a total of 22 seats in the state.
Signalling that the outfit will not ally with the MVA, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar announced candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Addressing a press conference, Ambedkar accused the MVA allies - Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT) - of trying to use his outfit to promote dynastic politics. Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar, announced the names of eight candidates for the phase of elections, including himself from the Akola constituency.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) nominated former Union ministers Anant Geete and Arvind Sawant from Raigad and South Mumbai constituencies respectively. It re-nominated all five sitting Lok Sabha MPs, who stayed with party chief Uddhav Thackeray, following the outfit's split in 2022. These lawmakers are Arvind Sawant (South Mumbai), Rajan Vichare (Thane), Vinayak Raut (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg), Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv) and Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani).
The Sena (UBT) also fielded its Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai from Mumbai South-Central, party leader Sanjay Raut said. Desai's tenure is coming to an end next month. With this, the party has now fielded four candidates from Mumbai.
Sawant had resigned as a Union minister after the undivided Shiv Sena quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the power-sharing agreement in Maharashtra. Vichare represents Thane, the home turf of Maharashtra chiefmMinister Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion triggered a split in the Shiv Sena founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966. T
The Sena (UBT) also fielded veteran party leader Chandrakant Khaire from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Khaire had lost to All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Imtiaz Jaleel in 2019. From Mumbai North-East, the party fielded Sanjay Patil, a former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA and MP who later joined the Shiv Sena.
The party also named Narendra Khedekar as its candidate from Buldhana, Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal-Washim, Sanjay Wakchowre-Patil from Maval, Rajabhau Waje from Nashik, Bhausaheb Wakchaure from Shirdi and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar from Hingoli.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party is a constituent of the opposition MVA alliance in the state. Another MVA ally, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) is yet to officially declare its candidates in the state for the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
On the other hand, the Congress, which is also a part of the state-level grouping of the opposition parties, has declared its candidates on some seats where there is no tussle with its alliance partners. Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80), will vote in five phases starting from April 19. "Shiv Sena will contest a total of 22 seats.
