Buoyed by the NDA’s victory in the recent Lok Sabha polls, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, who supported the Mahayuti alliance in the state, now aims to make a mark in the upcoming assembly elections.
MNS has initiated talks with the BJP regarding seat sharing for the upcoming assembly polls. The MNS has demanded 20 assembly seats in the state, with most of these seats in Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The seats demanded by the MNS include Worli, Dadar-Mahim, Sewree, Magathane, Dindoshi, Jogeshwari, Versova, Ghatkopar West, Chembur, Thane, Bhiwandi Rural, Kalyan Rural, Nashik East, Vani, Pandharpur, Aurangabad Central, and one seat in Pune.
Raj Thackeray aims to take on the Shiv Sena (UBT). According to sources, the MNS chief is likely to field his trusted lieutenant Sandeep Deshpande against nephew and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son, Aditya Thackeray, in the Worli assembly constituency.
Meanwhile, MNS’s Nitin Sardesai is set to contest from Dadar-Mahim, and Shalini Thackeray from Versova.
However, for the upcoming legislative council polls slated for June 26, the MNS is gearing up to challenge the BJP.
The MNS has declared Marathi filmmaker and party leader Abhijit Panse as their candidate from the Konkan Graduates’ constituency for the upcoming election.
Source Agencies
