Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday released its second list of candidates for the assembly elections. Twenty candidates were named in the list, bringing the total declared candidates from Sena (UBT) to 85. The list was announced in parts: in Saamna, the party mouthpiece, in the morning and then late evening.
Late on Saturday, the UBT Sena declared in a post on X former MLA Vinod Ghosalkar as its official candidate from Dahisar and Bhairulal Chaudhary Jain as candidate from Malabar Hill. BJP's Mangal Prabhat Lodha is the sitting MLA from Malabar Hill.
The Sena (UBT) declared former two-term BJP MLA Anil Gote from Dhule city; Gote joined the Sena (UBT) this week. Other candidates include Raju Tadvi from Chopada, Jayshree Mahajan from Jalgaon city, Jayshree Shelke from Buldhana, Pawan Jaiswal from Digras, Rupali Patil from Hingoli, Asaram Borade from Partur, Yogesh Gholap from Deolali, Sachin Basre from Kalyan West, Dhananjay Bodore from Kalyan East, former Mumbai mayor Shraddha Jadhav from Wadala, Ajay Chaudhari from Sewri, Manoj Jamsutkar from Byculla, Anuradha Nagawde from Shrigonda, and Sandesh Parkar from Kankavli.
With the second list out, there is a tussle with the Congress over two seats in Mumbai, Colaba and Versova, which the Sena (UBT) has also claimed, along with a few more seats in the rest of Maharashtra.
After speculation that former Akhil Bhartiya Sena (ABS) corporator Geeta Gawli would contest the assembly polls from Byculla on a Sena (UBT) ticket, the Sena (UBT) named former corporator Manoj Jamsutkar for that seat. Jamsutkar had claimed on Friday that he had received the party's AB form, which is required to file nominations as an official candidate. Jamsutkar was earlier in the Congress.
The CM Eknath Shinde-led Sena's Yamini Jadhav is the sitting MLA from Byculla constituency.
In the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), both the Sena (UBT) and the Congress party were keen on contesting the Byculla seat. The Sena (UBT), political observers said, was looking for a strong candidate from Byculla to challenge Yamini. While former mayor Kishori Pednekar and former corporator Ramakant Rahate were also in the fray, the party picked Jamsutkar as a local face.