Maharashtra Congress leader Naseem Khan on Friday said the unilateral announcement of candidates by the Shiv Sena (UBT) had angered his party workers and the state unit was keen on "friendly fights" in six Lok Sabha constituencies. The Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) comprise the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
"We met today and decided to communicate to the central leadership that we will have friendly fights on six seats, namely Sangli, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North West and some more places. The manner in which Shiv Sena (UBT) announced candidates on seats claimed by Congress has angered our party workers," Khan said. The Shiv Sena (UBT) announced its candidates in Sangli, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North West, while the NCP(SP) is claiming Bhiwandi.
Shiv Sena UBT releases first list of candidates
Earlier on March 27, the Shiv Sena (UBT) released its first list of 17 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, nominating former Union ministers Anant Geete and Arvind Sawant from Raigad and South Mumbai constituencies respectively. The party also fielded Anil Desai from Mumbai South Central, Rajan Vichare from Thane, Amol Kirtikar from Mumbai North-West, and Sanjay Patil from Mumbai North-East. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party is a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state.
It nominated former Union ministers Anant Geete and Arvind Sawant from Raigad and South Mumbai constituencies respectively. It re-nominated all five sitting Lok Sabha MPs, who stayed with party chief Uddhav Thackeray, following the outfit's split in 2022. These lawmakers are Arvind Sawant (South Mumbai), Rajan Vichare (Thane), Vinayak Raut (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg), Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv) and Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani).
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