The stage is set for the upcoming Lok Sabha election in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The longtime allies Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will now be the strongest opponents. On Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray sounded the horn for a stiff fight. The city is bracing for a fierce battle between the Maha Vikas Aghadi and Mahayuti, but the recent entry of former CM Ashok Chavan into the BJP fold is expected to have a significant impact on the election results, according to political experts.
With the Jan Samvad Yatra on Monday, Thackeray has made it clear that his party will contest the Lok Sabha elections with full vigour. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address a public meeting in the city on Thursday. It appears that both rivals are leaving no stone unturned to secure victory in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar constituency. The BJP and Shiv Sena had been allies for over 25 years and had secured several unexpected victories together.
To date, 17 Lok Sabha elections have been conducted in the district. The first MP from the district was Congress' Sureshchandra Arya in 1952, followed by five Congress MPs, including Swami Ramanand Tirth, BD Deshmukh, and Manikdada Palodkar. In 1977, Janta Dal's Bapu Kaldate emerged as the winner, while in 1985, Socialist Congress Party's Sahebrao Patil won the election.
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was established in 1985, and Shiv Sena-sponsored Moreshwar Save became the MP. Chandrakant Khaire served as the MP from 2001 until 2019. The alliance's supremacy was disrupted when AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel unexpectedly won the seat. Now, it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious in the upcoming election.
