Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday expelled five party leaders for engaging in anti-party activities after they failed to withdraw their nominations for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. The expelled leaders include Bhiwandi East MLA Rupesh Mhatre, Vishwas Nandekar, Chandrakant Ghugul, Sanjay Awari, and Prasad Thackeray.
The expulsions come amid a turbulent period for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the alliance comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Several leaders from within the coalition defied party instructions by filing nominations for the November 20 elections, despite party directives to withdraw.
Among the 14 MVA rebels who had initially filed their nominations, several leaders withdrew by the Monday deadline. Notably, Congress leader Mukhtar Shaikh pulled out from the Kasba Peth constituency in Pune and pledged support to the official Congress candidate, Ravindra Dhangekar. Additionally, Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati, the Congress candidate for Kolhapur North, also withdrew her nomination minutes before the deadline, leaving the party without a candidate in the key western Maharashtra seat. Chhatrapati had been nominated as a replacement for ex-corporator Rajesh Latkar, after the latter’s office was vandalized by those opposing his candidacy.
The Congress saw further withdrawals, with several other rebel candidates stepping down, including Hemalata Patil from Nashik Central, Madhu Chavan from Byculla, and Vishwanath Walvi from Nandurbar. Meanwhile, only two rebels from the NCP(SP) faction remain in the race.
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In a separate development, Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange, who has staged several hunger strikes demanding reservations for the Maratha community, also withdrew his candidacy. Jarange announced that he would support candidates from Parvati and Daund constituencies, though he refrained from naming them at this stage.
Following these withdrawals, a total of 4,140 candidates remain in the fray for 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly, marking a significant increase from the 3,239 candidates who contested in the 2019 elections. The elections this year are notable for the division within the regional parties, with the factions of Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and NCP headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar joining forces with the BJP to form the Mahayuti alliance.
The elections are scheduled for November 20, and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.
