Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde will contest from the Kalyan constituency in Maharashtra in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, announced deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, conceding the seat to its ally Shiv Sena.
The announcement comes a day after local BJP leaders opposed Shrikant Shinde’s name from the Kalyan seat.
Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday asserted that there is no opposition to Shrikant Shinde’s name and the BJP will firmly back Shinde and will get him elected with more margin than last election.
Mahayuti is the ruling alliance in Maharashtra, comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP under Ajit Pawar.
Shrikant Shinde vs Vaishali Darekar from Kalyan seat
Shrikant Shinde, a sitting MP, will take on Shiv Sena’s (UBT) two-time corporator Vaishali Darekar from the Kalyan constituency.
Darekar, 49, has been associated with the Shiv Sena for more than two decades. She holds a Master’s degree in history and is now prepping for the entrance test for LLB. Her husband Sachin Rane is an engineer who works with a multination firm.
Darekar gained political limelight when she fought the Kalyan Lok Sabha elections in 2009 as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate and garnered 1,02,063 votes, finishing third. That year, Shiv Sena candidate Anand Paranjpe won the election. Before joining the MNS, Darekar was with the Shiv Sena and was elected as corporator of Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation in 2000. She joined the MNS after Raj Thackeray formed the party.
After the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, within a year in 2010, the election for Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) was declared – she participated and was elected to the civic body the second time. With the MNS, she had the opportunity to work as leader of opposition in the KDMC. Subsequently, as the MNS struggled after its dismal performance in the 2014 assembly elections, Darekar returned to the Shiv Sena in March 2016. Since then she has been working for the party; her present post was of deputy chief organiser for the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency.
