Uddhav plays safe, fields 60 new faces

The Shiv Sena’s first list of 126 candidates, released on Monday in the party’s mouthpiece Saamna, showed that Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray was playing safe. Rajendra Aklekar & Sujit Mahamulkar report.

The Shiv Sena’s first list of 126 candidates, released on Monday in the party’s mouthpiece Saamna, showed that Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray was playing safe.

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Candidates were picked on their election winning abilities. Jalgaon strongman Suresh Jain, civic standing committee chairman Ravindra Waikar (Jogeshwari East), mill area muscleman Dagdu Sakpal (Parel) or political novice Omraje Nimbalkar in Osmanabad [son of slain Congressman Pawanraje Nimbalkar] could be poll winners.

The October 13 elections are crucial for Thackeray whose leadership will be under fire if the saffron alliance fails to defeat the Congress-NCP combine.

The Sena’s first list has 60 new faces, five women and five sitting corporators. Thirty-seven, including senior leader Subhash Desai from Goregaon, are sitting legislators.

New faces include Waikar, corporator Ashish Chemburkar (Worli), former NCP leader Pratap Sarnaik (Ovla Majiwada, Thane) and social activist Vivek Pandit (Vasai).

Leader of Opposition Ramdas Kadam has been fielded from Guhagar assembly constituency in Ratnagiri.

The list flagged off rebellion in the Sena with some vowing to contest against the party.

“I completed a round of campaigning after getting a green signal from the party. And today the party declared some other name,” said Anushakti Nagar corporator Rahul Shewale a civil engineer. The Sena has declared former corporator Tukaram Kate’s name from here.