Lok Sabha elections 2024: Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday (March 9) announced Amol Kirtikar as Shiv Sena UBT’s candidate from Mumbai North-West Lok Sabha constituency even though the deliberations for the seats among the Maha Vikas Aghadi are underway, upsetting ally Congress ahead of the general elections due April-May. Thackeray made the announcement while addressing party workers in the constituency, even though the seat-sharing talks among the MVA allies remain inconclusive.
Notably, Amol's father and sitting MP from the seat Gajanan Kirtikar is affiliated to the rival Shiv Sena headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam has been staking claim on the seat for the Lok Sabha elections, however, with the premature announcement by Thackeray, tensions are likely to shoot up within the state alliance partners who are also a part of the Opposition’s grand alliance at the national level ‘.I.N.D.I.A’.
"In MVA, the dispute between the Uddhav faction and Congress on Mumbai's North-West Lok Sabha seat increased. Uddhav announced the name of Amol Kirtikar before the MVA seat distribution was decided. Congress is very angry with this announcement of Uddhav," sources said.
Several parties have declared their candidates on various seats including:
Shiv Sena UBT
Mumbai-- North-West-- Amol Kirtikar
South Mumbai-- Arvind Sawant
Akola-- Prakash Ambedkar (VBA)
Sharad Pawar (NCP)
Baramati-- Supriya Sule
Shirur-- Amol Kolhe
Congress
Solapur-- Parineeti Shinde
Hingoli-- Pragana Satav (widow of late MP Rajeev Satav)
Chandrapur-- Pratibha Dhanorkar (widow of Balu Dhanorkar 2019 MP)
The Sharad Pawar's faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday declared Supriya Sule as its candidate from Maharashtra's Baramati Lok Sabha seat, amid speculation that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar could be fielded from here.
Sanjay Nirupam reacts
Sanjay Nirupam, who is one of the claimants of this seat, hit out at Thackeray and asked if he announced the candidate before the official announcement to "humiliate" Congress.
Opinion Poll predictions for Maharashtra
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may win 35 out of a total of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, while the opposition I.N.D.I alliance may win 13 seats if elections are held now, says India TV-CNX Opinion Poll. Details of the opinion poll were telecast on the news channel on February 29.
In the opinion poll projections, BJP leads the tally with 25 seats, while its allies Shiv Sena (Shinde) may win six and NCP (Ajit Pawar) may win four seats. In the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) may win eight seats, NCP (Sharad Pawar) may win three seats, and Congress may win only two seats, says the survey.
ALSO READ | Sharad Pawar declares daughter Supriya Sule as candidate from Maharashtra's Baramati Lok Sabha seat
