After announcing his intention to go solo in the upcoming Assembly Elections in Maharashtra, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is now focusing on the Worli Assembly seat and is likely to field party leader Sandeep Deshpande against the sitting MLA and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray.
Previously, Raj Thackeray had extended support to the Mahayuti Government, comprising the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), BJP, and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), however had recently announced to go solo and filing over 250 candidates in the assembly election.
'MNS leader Deshpande has been actively engaging with Worli residents'
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande who has been actively engaging with Worli residents to address their concerns spoke on how the sitting MLA fails to address his constituency's concern.
Speaking to a media agaency, Deshpande said Aaditya Thackeray, the second in command in the Shiv Sena (UBT) hierarchy after his father Uddhav Thackeray, is not accessible to the common people. "The question is accessibility. People need an MLA who is accessible, which is not the case with the incumbent MLA," Deshpande said.
He further also emphasized that his party has dedicated voters base in the constituency. "In the 2017 municipal corporation polls, we (MNS) secured around 30,000 to 33,000 votes from Worli. We have dedicated voters in this constituency," Deshpande added.
'Trouble brews in Worli for Shiv Sena (UBT)'
Moreover, it is important to note that the present development comes as the MNS sees an opportunity to field Deshpande as its candidate for the Assembly after the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate's lead fell to less than 7,000 in Worli during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
Despite the Shiv Sena (UBT) victory, the Worli assembly segment saw a significant drop in lead during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, with party candidate Arvind Sawant leading by just 6,715 votes, the lowest in four of the six assembly constituencies under Mumbai South where he dominated his Shiv Sena challenger.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Sunil Shinde acknowledged the "unexpected drop" in the lead of his party candidate during the Lok Sabha polls, attributing it to overconfidence but expressed confidence in Aaditya Thackeray's return to the fray in the upcoming assembly elections.
"The drop in the lead does not mean that people were upset with us. Our candidate was far better than our rival (Shiv Sena's Yamini Jadhav). But in the Lok Sabha polls, it was the Modi factor. We did not get the expected response from high-rises," Shinde claimed.
(With inputs from PTI)
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