As the Maharashtra Assembly elections are nearing, all the political parties are gearing up for choosing their candidates. On Monday, Maharashrashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray announced names of two first candidates. Bala Nandgaonkar will be contesting from Mumbai's Shivadi assembly constituency, while Dilip Dhotre will contest from Pandharpur constrituency.
Raj Thackeray has already announced that the party will contest independently and will not be in alliance with any political party. For the Lok Sabha elections, Raj Thackeray had announced unconditional support to the Mahayuti (the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Ajit Pawar-led NCP and BJP) and had urged the MNS workers to prepare for the state assembly polls.
Notably, it was expected that for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bala Nadgaonkar will be fielded from South Mumbai seat. However, the Mahayuti made a delayed announcment and fielded sitting Byculla MLA Yamini Jadhav as their Lok Sabha candidate. However, the they lost the seat to sitting MP Arvind Sawant from Uddhav Thackeray led-Shiv Sena.
According to reports, Raj Thackeray's MNS will field condidates in 255 constitunces out of total 288 constituences in Maharashtra. He has already started touring the state ahead of the elections to strengthen the party and motivate the workers on the ground level.
One of the prime seat for Maharashtra is Mumbai's Worli constituency, where Aaditya Thackeray is the sitting MLA. MNS is likely to field Sandeep Deshpande from Worli. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the MVA's Arvind Sawant won from the South Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency with a thin margin. The opposition eyes to win the high profile Worli assembly constituency.
On Saturday, Raj Thackeray met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to discuss issues in Worli. Following the meeting, Shinde directed officials to prioritise addressing Worli's issues, according to the Chief Minister's Office.
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MNS leader Deshpande has been actively engaging with Worli residents addressing their concerns. The areas of Worli, Dadar, Wadala are dominted by the Shiv Sena and MNS.
