In a surprising move, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's party, Shiv Sena, declared BJP spokesperson Shaina NC as the candidate from Mumbai's Mumbadevi constituency for the upcoming state assembly election on Monday.
Shiv Sena made the decision to field Shaina a day before the final deadline for filing nominations. Shaina will file her nomination on Tuesday afternoon.
The Mumbadevi constituency falls under the Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency, along with Worli, Byculla, Malabar Hill, Shivadi, and Colaba constituencies.
BJP's Raj K. Purohit represented the seat for four terms from 1990 to 2009. Since 2009, the seat has been held by the Congress, with Congress leader Amin Patel winning it in the last election.
It was speculated that the BJP might field Shaina from the Worli seat. However, in the seat-sharing agreement, the Worli seat went to Shiv Sena, which fielded Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Aaditya Thackeray.
"I am not at all upset. It is the decision of the party and the alliance to select the candidate. I congratulate my friend Milind Deora on his candidature as the Mahayuti candidate for the prestigious Worli assembly constituency," Shaina NC told news agency ANI after the announcement.
"As an alliance, the decision to select a candidate is always the prerogative of the leadership. Our party believes in putting the nation first, the party next, and the individual last. Our agenda is to drive development in Mumbai and take Maharashtra to new heights," she said.
