Thane: Internal bickering between the Thane units of the BJP and the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) have resulted in delay in finalising the candidate amidst seat-sharing talks between the allies.
While Sena activists have been demanding that the seat should go to their party claiming it has tremendous clout in the constituency and has been sending candidate to Parliament for two consecutive terms in 2014 and 2019, BJP activists claim the seat should be allotted to the party this time considering its increasing clout in the region. The latter also say that Shiv Sena should leave either Thane or Kalyan for the BJP.
'Shinde Is Caught In A Fix': Political Experts
While Thane is the home district of Shiv Sena leader and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Kalyan is currently represented by his son Dr Shrikant Shinde. “If Shinde decides to leave Thane for BJP, then the people will accuse him of abandoning his home district. If he doesn't, then he will do injustice to his son, who has won two terms from Kalyan. Shinde is caught in a fix since it's with the support of the BJP that he is currently in power,” a political observer said. However, if Sena sources are to be believed, the party has decided to leave Palghar for BJP and keep Thane and Kalyan. All three seats were won by the Shiv Sena (undivided) in 2019.
Thane is a prestigious seat for Shinde as it is from this city that he began his political innings under the tutelage of late Anand Dighe. Shinde has been representing Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in the Maharashtra legislature and enjoys formidable clout in the area. He was instrumental in wresting the seat from the NCP when Rajan Vichare was elected member of Parliament in 2014, and repeated the feat in 2019.
