NCP leader Ajit Pawar attended Kasba Assembly bypolls election campaign rally at Shukravarpeth. (Express photo by Pavan Khengre) Lending support to its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is campaigning in full strength for the Chinchwad and Kasba Assembly bypolls being contested by the NCP and Congress, respectively.
While the NCP is contesting the Chinchwad seat, Congress is contesting the Kasba seat as per the MVA’s seat-sharing arrangement. The BJP is contesting both the seats which were vacated after the deaths of sitting legislators Laxman Jagtap (Chinchwad) and Mukta Tilak (Kasba) respectively.
Aaditya Thackeray participated in a roadshow for the NCP candidate in Chinchwad on Wednesday and will be doing the same for the Congress candidate in Kasba apart from addressing an election rally that will be attended by Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council Ambadas Danve.
The bypolls will be held on February 26.
Earlier, the firebrand leader of the Thackeray faction, Sushma Andhare, addressed election rallies for Congress in Kasba while Thackeray faction legislator Bhaskar Jadhav addressed an election rally for the NCP candidate in Chinchwad. The local units of the Thackeray faction, along with former legislators and corporators, are actively campaigning in Chinchwad and Kasba constituencies.
The NCP and Congress have been a strong support to the Thackeray faction following the split in its ranks. NCP chief Sharad Pawar publicly accused the BJP of misusing power while speaking about the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to allocate the party name and symbol to the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. “The party name and symbol is snatched from those who founded the Shiv Sena and is handed over to someone else,” Pawar said during campaigning in Chinchwad and Kasba.
Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat too has extended its support to the Thackeray faction.