MNS releases first list of 27 candidates, fields its lone BMC corporator amongst prominent four faces

Mumbai: The Raj Thackeray led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Tuesday released its first list of 27 candidates for the ensuing October 21 assembly elections in the state. Prominent faces amongst them include – Sandip Deshpande, Akhil Chitre, Sanjay Turde, Narendra Dharma Patil amongst others. In the first list, the MNS has fielded candidates on assembly seats most of which it had won in its first ever elections in 2009 and where it feels it has sizeable influence or support base.

But most of the candidates that it has fielded so far are most from assembly constituencies held by the Shiv Sena or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). So far the party has not given ticket to its senior most former MLA Bala Nandgaonkar who was elected in the 2009 polls from Shivadi assembly constituency. Raj Thackeray has announced that he will launch the MNS poll campaign with his first rally on October 5.

The MNS has given ticket to its most visible face on the electronic media and former BMC corporators, Sandip Deshpande from Mahim constituency where the Shiv Sena headquarters of Sena Bhavan is located. Deshpande has replaced Nitin Sardesai who had won the seat in the 2009 polls. Another prominent face is MNS Chitrapat Sena and controversial leader Akhil Chitre from Bandra East constituency, that houses Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s Matoshri residence.

The MNS has given ticket to Narendra Patil son of the 84 year old farmer from Dhule, Dharma Patil who had committed suicide at Mantralaya in January 2018. Narendra Patil has been fielded from Sindkheda constituency against sitting BJP minister Jaykumar Rawal. Besides, the MNS has fielded Sanjay Turde, its lone corporators in the BMC from Kalina assembly constituency. He has been rewarded for not defecting along with the rest of the seven MNS corporators who joined the Sena in 2018. Former MNS corporators Nayan Kadam has been fielded from Magathane constituency.

Prominent amongst the other candidates fielded by the MNS in its first list include – Rajesh Yerunkar (Dahisar), Arun Surve (Dindoshi), Hemant Kamble (Kandivali East), Virendra Jagtap (Goregaon), Sandesh Desai (Versova), Ganesh Chukkal (Ghatkopar West), Karnabal Dunbale (Chembur), Avinash Jadhav (Thane), Pramod Ratan Patil (Kalyan Rural), ex-MLA Prakash Bhoir (Kalyan West) and Gajanan Kale (Belapur) amongst others. The MNS has also fielded its candidates in Nashik East, Hadapsar, Kothrud, Nashik Central, Kasba Peth, Nashik West, Igatpuri, Shivajinagar, Hinganghat, Tuljapur and Wani.

The most notable performance of the MNS had come in its first ever assembly elections in 2019, when 13 of its MLAs were elected. The MNS had then seriously dented and damaged the poll prospects of the Sena. However, thereafter most of its elected MLAs later deserted the party and either joined the Sena or BJP. Prominent amongst those former MLAs who left the MNS included Harshavardhan Jadhav (Kannad), Pravin Darekar (Magathane) Shishir Shinde (Bhandup West) and Ram Kadam (Ghatkopar West). The lone MNS MLA Sharad Sonawane who was elected in the 2014 assembly elections from Junnar assembly constituency too recently quit the party, membership of the lower house and joined the Sena.