Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Thursday released its first list of eight candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
Shiv Sena is part of the NDA, along with Ajit Pawar’s NCP. There are 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has given a ticket to former Congress MLA Raju Parve from the Ramtek (SC) seat. Parve had joined the Shiv Sena recently.
The other seven names on the list include Rahul Shewale, who will be contesting from Mumbai South Central, Sanjay Mandlik from Kolhapur, Sadashiv Lokhande will contest from Shirdi (SC) Prataprao Jadhav from Buldhana, Hemant Patil will fight the Lok Sabha polls from Hingoli, Srirang Barne from Maval and Dhairyasheel Mane from Hatkanangale.
In June 2022, the Shiv Sena, which had fought the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the BJP, split and 13 of the 18 MPs from the state had allied with Shinde.
Veteran Bollywood actor Govinda joined Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Thursday. He said that the clean aura of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena inspired him to join that party, adding that the country has made significant progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20.
The state, with its 48 Lok Sabha seats, is the second-largest contributor to the lower house of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of 25 contested seats, while the undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 out of 23 seats.
The undivided NCP, part of the opposition alliance, contested 19 seats and won four. Following the split in the Shiva Sena 2022, the Eknath Shinde faction aligned with the BJP.