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The ruling Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday released its first list of eight candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Apart from the Ramtek seat, where the Shinde-led Sena has dropped its sitting MP, the party has retained its faith in the incumbents of the remaining seven seats, giving tickets to sitting MPs.
Candidates were named for the Mumbai South Central, Kolhapur, Shirdi (SC), Buldhana, Hingoli, Maval, Hatkanangale and Ramtek (SC) seats.
MP Rahul Shewale, the Shinde faction’s party leader in the Lok Sabha, has been fielded again from the Mumbai South Central seat, while Sanjay Mandlik has been given a ticket again from Kolhapur.
Mr. Shewale takes on Anil Desai, a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray and the candidate of the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT)-MVA alliance.
Sadashiv Lokhande has been announced for the Shirdi seat, Prataprao Jadhav from Buldhana, Hemant Patil from Hingoli, Shrirang Barne from Maval (in Pune district) and Dhairyasheel Mane from Hatkanangale (in Kolhapur district).
The exception is former MLA Raju Parve, who recently switched sides from the Congress to join Mr. Shinde’s Sena, and has been named for the Ramtek Lok Sabha seat in lieu of sitting Shinde Sena MP Krupal Tumane.
Two-term MP from Maval, Mr. Barne had defeated Ajit Pawar’s son, Parth, in the 2019 Lok Sabha election while Mr. Mane had trounced farmer leader Raju Shetti, who heads the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), in the last election.
In Kolhapur, Mr. Mandlik will be pitted against the Congress-MVA candidate Shahu Shahaji Chhatrapati — the 12th descendent of the Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji and grandson of 19th century reformer-ruler Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu of Kolhapur.
