Shiv Sena (UBT) names 17 candidates, Congress cries foul

Tribune News Service

Animesh Singh

New Delhi, March 27

Former Union minister Anant Geete and senior party leader Arvind Sawant are some of the prominent faces in the first list of 17 candidates announced by the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Wednesday for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, even as discussions on seat allotment in Maharashtra are still on among the constituents of Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

While Geete and Sawant will contest from Raigad and Mumbai (South), respectively, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has chosen its youth wing leader, Amol Kirtikar, as its candidate for the Mumbai’s North-West seat, currently represented by his father, Gajanan Kirtikar, who has sided with the Shiv Sena faction led by CM Eknath Shinde. It will become an interesting contest between father and son, if the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena decides to nominate Gajanan Kirtikar from Mumbai North-West.

Some other key candidates announced by the Shiv Sena (UBT) include Vinayak Raut from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Sanjay Jadhav from Parbhani, who has been renominated, and Chandrakant Khaire from Aurangabad (now known as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar).

The Congress has declared candidates on seats where it does not face any issues with its alliance partners namely NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Shiv Sena (UBT).

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP has not yet announced its candidates for the Lok Sabha poll.

The Congress has objected to the Shiv Sena (UBT) announcing candidates from Sangli and Mumbai South-Central, saying the move was in disregard with alliance dharma.

Congress leaders are learnt to have said that it is an “insult” to alliance principles on part of the Shiv Sena (UBT) to have announced candidates when discussions on seat-sharing pact are still on.

Maharashtra Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said, “I want to attract the attention of Congress leadership to intervene, if not, then break the alliance to save the party.”

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