Mumbai: It is a virtual battle between the Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj in Shivadi as their respective parties Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena slug it out to win the seat where the Marathi Manoos still rules the roost. Sena’s Ajay Chaudhari and MNS’ Bala Nandgaonkar are fighting a pitched battle for this seat.
The Shivadi constituency which consist of the Parel-Lalbaug belt popularly known as Girangaon (village of Mills) is the area where Shiv Sena founder the late Bal Thackeray debuted his party in the Assembly in 1969.
Nandgaonkar is supported by the ruling Mahayuti. Chaudhari is known for his fierce loyalty towards Uddhav. It was in June, 2022 when Chaudhari replaced Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as group leader when the latter rebelled.
The issues faced by the residents include living in old dilapidated structures, parking issues, traffic congestion and unemployment among the local youths. It has seen large scale migration of Marathi Manoos to distant suburbs and old chalws replaced by huge skyscrapers.
Nandgaonkar is a veteran legislator for four terms and former state minister. He accused Chaudhari of neglecting the constituency and being a non-performer. Chaudhari on the other hand accuses Nandgaonkar of being invisible from the last one decade.
In the Lok Sabha polls, Mahayuti candidate Yamini Jadhav trailed by about 17,800 votes in this Assembly segment.
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