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Amit Thackeray will contest the Mahim assembly seat, facing tough competition from candidates of both Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena factions.
Amit Thackeray (Photo: Instagram)
Amit Thackeray, son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, is set to face a tough fight in the Mahim assembly seat as Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced Sada Sarvankar as his faction’s candidate from the constituency.
Announcing the list of Shiv Sena (UBT) candidates, former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has also fielded Mahesh Sawant as his faction’s candidate from the Mahim seat.
Amit will be the third person from the extended Thackeray family to contest an election. His father and MNS chief Raj Thackeray has never contested any poll.
Amit’s second cousin Aaditya Thackeray — Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son — made his debut by winning from neighbouring Worli seat in the 2019 assembly polls. Uddhav Thackeray himself was elected to the legislative council in 2020 after he became Maharashtra Chief Minister.
Mahim is a mix of predominantly upper-class Maharashtrian and a sizable cosmopolitan and minority vote. The headquarters of the Shiv Sena — now with the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction — is located in the area.
The constituency has always been with the undivided Shiv Sena or the MNS since 1990. In 2009, MNS’s Nitin Sardesai had won from Mahim.
The MNS released its first list of 45 candidates for the November 20 polls. Sixteen of these seats are in Mumbai.
It fielded Sandeep Deshpande from Worli in south-central Mumbai where he is likely to take on Aaditya Thackeray.
Pramod Patil, the only MNS MLA in the outgoing assembly, was renominated from the Kalyan rural seat in neighbouring Thane district.
The party fielded Avinash Jadhav from Thane city.
