A discontented Manohar Joshi met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday and demanded candidature from any of the three constituencies, including south central Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. Rumours have it that all the three constituency candidatures have been finalised and Mr Joshi may not be obliged. Mr Thackeray did not give any concrete assurance, which has piqued the senior leader further. However, after a meeting with Mr Thackeray, Mr Joshi told the media that he was still in the race for the Lok Sabha election and expected a party ticket from one of the constituencies.
Sources from the Shiv Sena claimed that Rahul Shewale, who is standing committee chairman of BMC for the past three years, would be the Sena candidate from south central Mumbai constituency. While Milind Ballal is likely to take Eknath Shinde’s place as the party candidate from Thane, Gopal Landge or Sunil Chaudhary, president of Ambernath Municipal Council are strong contenders for the Kalyan seat. According to a source, Shiv Sena Vibhag Pramukh Sada Sarwankar flashed posters of Mr Shewale during the recent Ganesh festival. In the past three years of his tenure as BMC standing committee chairman, Mr Shewale never allowed his own photo on posters or banners. It is apparently the reason for Mr Joshi’s dissatisfaction.
Mr Thackeray, who was in Sri Lanka for a private visit, returned on Monday. Mr Joshi met him at Matoshree, where Mr Shewale was also called. The three had a closed-door meeting for almost two hours. “I am still in the race for the Lok Sabha election and expect a party ticket in one of the constituencies,” he told the media after the meeting, without naming his preferences. However, his willingness to contest from the south central constituency is no secret.
Meanwhile, Mr Shewale said that he met Mr Thackeray to discuss BMC issues. Mr Thackeray has also not commented on the meeting with Mr Joshi and Mr Shewale.
On the other hand, Republican Party of India chief Ramdas Athawale, who is part of the Shiv Sena-BJP Mahayuti, has demanded six Lok Sabha constituencies for RPI, including south central Mumbai and Kalyan constituency. So, it is assumed that it would be tough fight for finalising the seat-sharing formula.