MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Thursday fielded Rajashree Patil, wife of Hingoli MP Hemant Patil, from Yavatmal-Washim Lok Sabha constituency in place of the party's sitting MP Bhavana Gawli.
In Hingoli, the party led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde replaced sitting MP Patil with Baburao Kadam Kohlikar.
The party had declared Patil's candidature in its first list, but dropped him following opposition from the local unit of its ally BJP. Kohlikar is the Hingoli district unit president of the Shiv Sena.
After Gawli was replaced, Shinde said he has not abandoned her and will stand by her like a brother. He said both Gawli and Patil had done good work in their constituencies. Shinde claimed Kohlikar and Rajashree Patil will win with handsome margins.
The party has so far dropped three sitting MPs, including Krupal Tumane from Ramtek (SC) seat. It is also likely to drop Mumbai North-West MP Gajanan Kirtikar as the rival Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Kirtikar's son Amol Kirtikar from the seat.
There is also uncertainty over the candidature of Shiv Sena's Nashik MP Hemant Godse as its allies BJP and NCP have staked claim to the north Maharashtra seat.
Rajashree Patil and Kohlikar submitted their nomination papers on Thursday in Shinde's presence before respective returning officers.
