Lok Sabha elections 2024: Eknath Shinde gets more, tasked with winning more

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

A day after the BJP vacated its claim on the Mumbai South constituency, Wednesday turned out to be another good day for Shinde Sena supporters as the big brother let it have Thane and Nashik. Kalyan for the Shinde Sena was a foregone conclusion because it is the CM's son's segment. The party announced former mayor of Thane Naresh Mhaske (Thane), Dr Shrikant Shinde (Kalyan) and Hemant Godse (Nashik). Dr Shrikant and Godse are the sitting MPs. Godse's fate hung in the balance when NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal was projected as his replacement. Now all that is over. But the BJP didn't allow Shinde to take another seat in MMR Palghar (ST) - the only seat where it hasn't named its candidate yet.

Before the Sena made announcements, state BJP commander Devendra Fadnavis declared at a news channel launch that BJP would contest Palghar while the Shinde Sena would contest Thane and Nashik. Fadnavis had declared Dr Shrikant's name from Kalyan nearly a month ago, when the two parties were in a tussle over claiming the constituency.

Naresh Mhaske, Dr Shrikant Shinde and Hemant Godse

In all, Shinde has managed to outscore his party cadre's expectations. He has got more than what the BJP had originally planned to hand him in seat-sharing. Henceforth, his task is to win as many places and prove his worth in NDA. Maharashtra holds the key to the BJP's third run to Delhi. But what matters most - apart from PM Modi's projection as the saviour - for a three-party alliance is to prevent cracks at the ground level. For example, Mhaske said the delayed announcement was part of his party's election strategy. This explanation made no sense because people know the exact reasons, not only for Thane but also for Nashik and Palghar.

Thane's aboriginal BJP cadre is upset because it didn't get its wish fulfilled. Influential turncoats aspired to outsmart BJP's old-timers in the race for a ticket, but as it turned out, Mhaske has been pitted against Sena (UBT)'s sitting MP Rajan Vichare. The disgruntled will be watched for their active participation in Shinde Sena's campaign. In Nashik, the delay fuelled aspirations of a religious guru, Shantigiri Maharaj. He filed his nomination as the Shinde candidate but wasn't handed party authorisation. He refused to withdraw, promising to fight both Sena factions.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore

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