Maha polls: Shiv Sena names its candidates for 68 seats

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena formally announced their alliance, the Sena released its first list of 68 candidates on Tuesday.

A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena formally announced their alliance, the Sena released its first list of 68 candidates on Tuesday.

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The Sena, which has been giving out AB forms (official nomination forms to contest elections on the party symbol) since Sunday night, has retained most of its MLAs, and given tickets to five legislators who crossed over from the Congress and NCP and a new entrant. According to a Sena functionary, the distribution will continue at Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s residence in Bandra east.

Aaditya Thackeray, son of the party chief, will contest from Worli, while sitting MLA Sunil Shinde, could be accommodated as a member of the legislative council later, party insiders said. Senior Sena leader and public health minister Eknath Shinde has been renominated from Kopri-Pachpakhadi in Thane. The party’s junior ministers in the state government, Arjun Khotkar, Vijay Shivtare and Ravindra Waikar, have made it to the first list and will contest from Jalna, Purandare and Jogeshwari East, respectively.

Senior Sena leader and minister Subhash Desai, who was involved in negotiations with BJP leaders, could not secure a ticket for himself. The state industries minister lost to BJP candidate Vidya Thakur in 2014, and the seat has gone to the BJP’s quota in the seat-sharing. Ramdas Kadam, another Sena minister, has not found his name on the first list. However, his son Yogesh has got the ticket to contest from Dapoli in Ratnagiri district. The turncoats who joined the party in the run-up to the Assembly elections have also been given tickets.

Former Congress legislator Abdul Sattar, who joined the Sena last month, has been fielded from Sillod in Aurangabad, and former NCP legislator Bhaskar Jadhav will contest from Guhagar in Ratnagiri. Pandurang Barora, former NCP MLA, has been given a ticket from Shahapur, in Thane district. Nirmala Gavit, another turncoat, was given a ticket from Igatpuri in Nashik district. In a surprise move, Avdhut Tatkare, who joined the Sena from the NCP, has not been given ticket from Shrivardhan. Tatkare had resigned as the legislator to join the Sena and was hoping to get a ticket. Instead, Vinod Ghosalkar has been fielded from Shrivardhan. Ghosalkar was pushing for Dahisar seat in Mumbai, but the seat is with the BJP so he was accommodated from Konkan.

South Mumbai division head (Vibhag Pramukh) Pandurang Sakpal has been given a ticket from Mumbadevi in south Mumbai. He could take on sitting Congress legislator Amin Patel. Sitting MLAs Rajesh Kshirsagar from Kolhapur north, Sanjay Shirsat from Aurangabad West, Sujit Minchekar from Hatkanangale, Sada Sarvankar from Mahim and Sanjay Potnis from Kalina got tickets.