Nirupam stressed that he will not endorse the candidacy of “such a khichdi chor” (thief), who committed corruption during the Covid times, and whom Uddhav Thackeray has nominated. He was referring to Amol Kirtikar, whom Sena UBT has nominated from Mumbai North West constituency.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has also nominated sitting MP Arvind Sawant from the South Mumbai seat. Mumbai North West constituency was once represented by his father, Gajanan Kirtikar.
Kirtikar’s nomination comes even as the ED on Wednesday issued a summons to him in connection with his alleged involvement in the Khichdi scam.
He further noted, “I want to tell the top leadership (of Congress) that I will wait for a maximum of one week more and then will take a decision. All options are open for me, I am not in an option-less situation.”
As reported by ANI, Nirupam said that Shiv Sena should not take an extreme stand. “This will cause a huge loss to Congress. I want to attract the attention of Congress leadership to intervene, if not then break the alliance to save the party. The decision of an alliance with Shiv Sena will prove self-destructive for Congress.”
Earlier in the day, the Shiv Sena (UBT), which is part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), disclosed its first list of 17 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
“Out of six (Lok Sabha) seats in Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest on five seats, and one seat has been left for the Congress like charity. This decision is aimed at burying the Congress in Mumbai. I oppose this decision,” the Congress leader added.
Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80), will vote in five phases starting from April 19.
Shiv Sena announced its intention to vie for a total of 22 seats in the state. Among the nominations, former Union ministers Anant Geete and Arvind Sawant were selected to contest from the Raigad and South Mumbai constituencies respectively.
“Candidates for five seats will be announced in the next two days for Palghar, Kalyan Dombivli, Mumbai North, Hatkanangale, Jalgaon. The names have been finalised,” Raut said.
He said Raju Shetti of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana wants to contest from the Hatkanangale seat with the support of the Shiv Sena (UBT). This is the seat the undivided Shiv Sena won in 2019. “The party will take a call on whether to field a candidate from Hatkanangale or support Shetti,” he added.
Also Read: An hour after nomination, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar gets ED notice
Additionally, the party decided to field all five incumbent Lok Sabha MPs who remained loyal to party leader Uddhav Thackeray after the factional split in 2022.
The Congress, as part of the state-level opposition coalition, has announced its candidates for certain seats where there is no conflict with its alliance partners.
On Tuesday, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) to consider a seat-sharing arrangement proposed by the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of B R Ambedkar, for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state.
He expressed disappointment regarding Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray’s independent announcement of his party’s candidate for the Sangli Lok Sabha seat, a traditionally contested constituency for the Congress.
Also Read: Mumbai College students ‘forced to attend’ session of Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s son | Video
(With inputs from agencies)
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Published: 27 Mar 2024, 01:58 PM IST
