Representative image of a person casting a vote.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Mumbai's Mahim assembly seat will see a high-stakes contest between three Senas on November 20.
The ruling Shiv Sena, the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will battle it out among themselves to win the prestigious seat in central Mumbai.
Mahim has witnessed the birth of the undivided Shiv Sena (1966) and then the MNS, which came into existence in 2006 when Raj Thackeray charted his own independent political course.
The MNS has fielded Amit Thackeray, son of party president Raj Thackeray, who is making his electoral debut from the Mahim seat, which is among 36 assembly segments in Mumbai.
The Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has fielded sitting MLA Sada Sarvankar from Mahim, while Mahesh Sawant is the Sena (UBT) candidate from the seat.
Asked about his party fielding a candidate against Amit Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the Sena was formed in the Mahim-Dadar belt and it cannot be the case that it will not contest the seat.
Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray are cousins.
The Shiv Sena suffered a split in June 2022 when a section of MLAs, led by Shinde, revolted against Uddhav Thackeray, the then-Chief Minister.
Mahim is a mix of predominantly upper-class Maharashtrian and a sizeable cosmopolitan and minority vote. The headquarters of the Shiv Sena -- now with the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction -- is located in the area.
It also has the MNS headquarters. The iconic Shivaji Park ground is also located in nearby Dadar where both the MNS and Sena (UBT) hold their annual Padwa and Dussehra rallies, respectively.
The constituency has always been with the undivided Shiv Sena or the MNS since 1990. In 2009, MNS candidate Nitin Sardesai won from Mahim.
Elections for the 288-member state assembly will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted three days later.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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