Lok Sabha polls: Prestigious MMR seats among 13 that are battle-ready

From the Opposition, Thackeray-led Sena will contest on eight seats while the Congress and the NCP-SP will contest on three and two seats respectively.

Dhule

Subhash Bhamre (BJP), Shobha Bachhav (Cong)

The incumbent BJP MP is looking for a third straight victory from this seat in north Maharashtra, one of the strongholds of the party, while the Congress has given ticket to former minister Shobha Bachhav. However, her candidature has already landed in controversy as she comes from the neighbouring Nashik district.

Dindori (ST)

Bharti Pawar (BJP),  Bhaskar Bhagre (NCP-SP)

Union Minister of State for Health Bharti Pawar will take on a grassroots worker of the NCP (SP) Bhaskar Bhagre, a surprise nomination from the party. Senior CPM leader Jiva Pandu Gavit had filed his nomination from the seat but he has been convinced to withdraw, giving a boost to the opposition candidate.

Nashik

Hemant Godse (SS) and Rajabhau Vaze (SS-UBT)

Nashik was the bone of contention within the ruling alliance and the announcement was delayed till the last day of filing the nominations as all three parties were interested in contesting from the seat. Finally, incumbent Godse was given the ticket. Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena has fielded former MLA Rajabhau Vaze, which has led to rebellion within his party with aspirant Vijay Karanjkar switching sides.

Palghar (ST)

Bharti Kamdi (SS-UBT), Hemant Savra (BJP) and Rajesh Patil (BVA)

In a triangular fight, Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena has fielded former Palghar ZP president Bharti Kamdi. Senior BJP leader and former minister late Vishnu Savra’s son Hemant Savra will be the party candidate. With three MLAs in its kitty, BVA too has decided to contest the seat to make the fight triangular.

Bhiwandi

Kapil Patil (BJP), Suresh alias Balyamama Mhatre (NCP-SP)

A combination of urban and rural areas, Bhiwandi is witnessing a tough battle between Union Minister of State Kapil Patil from the BJP and his arch rival Suresh Mhatre from NCP-SP. The BJP candidate is battling infighting while the opposition too is busy sorting out differences with the Congress.

Kalyan

Shrikant Shinde (SS) and Vaishali Darekar-Rane (SS-UBT)

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant is the incumbent MP from this seat and claims that he will easily win the seat. Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena has fielded grassroots worker Vaishali Darekar-Rane to take on the might of Shindes. The ruling candidate is facing discontent from a section of BJP, especially after old rivalries turned into a shooting incident inside the police station.

Thane

Rajan Vichare (SS-UBT) and  Naresh Mhaske (SS)

Incumbent Rajan Vichare of Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena will take on former mayor of Thane Naresh Mhaske, in the home turf of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The battle has already led to sparks flying from both the sides which used to work together in the past. Mhaske’s candidature was opposed by the BJP’s side, especially from influential Ganesh Naik group and led to several resignations. The BJP, however, has claimed that it has sorted out the differences.

Mumbai North

Piyush Goyal (BJP) and Bhushan Patil (Cong)

Union Minister Piyush Goyal will contest from one of the strongest seats of the BJP in Mumbai. Congress has given ticket to local party leader Bhushan Patil, who claims that he will emerge as a giant killer on June 4.

Mumbai North West

Amol Kirtikar (SS-UBT) and Ravindra Waikar (SS)

Faced with an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe, Jogeshwari MLA Ravindra Waikar switched sides to join Eknath Shinde-led Sena a few months before the elections. The party decided to field him from this seat to take on Amol Kirtikar of Thackeray-led Sena. Kirtikar is the son of sitting MP Gajanan Kirtikar. Despite his father joining hands with Shinde, he has chosen to be with Thackeray. Kirtikar is also facing an ED probe.

Mumbai North East

Mihir Kotecha (BJP) and Sanjay Dina Patil (SS-UBT)

In a constituency, which is likely to witness a highly polarised environment on linguistic basis, BJP’s sitting MLA Mihir Kotecha will take on Thackeray-led Sena’s Sanjay Dina Patil. Patil has represented the constituency in the Lok Sabha in 2009 as an MP from the NCP. The seat recently witnessed a dispute between Gujaratis and Marathis after a society dominated by the former denied entry to workers campaigning for Patil.

Mumbai North Central

Varsha Gaikwad (Cong) and Ujjwal Nikam (BJP)

Mumbai Congress chief and MLA Varsha Gaikwad has chosen to contest from the constituency won by her late father Eknath Gaikwad by defeating late Manohar Joshi. The BJP has fielded well-known public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. The contest has already witnessed fiery exchanges from both sides with regard to Nikam’s performance in 26/11 trial and the BJP has filed a case with the Election Commission against Congress for violating model code of conduct.

Mumbai South Central

Rahul Shewale (SS) and Anil Desai (SS-UBT)

Uddhav Thackeray’s former confidante and incumbent Rahul Shewale will take on Thackeray’s close aide Anil Desai from this seat. Shewale handled the standing committee of the BMC when he was with the Thackerays. Desai has been in charge of Sena’s prestigious Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti — a platform to ensure jobs to locals.

Mumbai South

Arvind Sawant (SS-UBT) and Yamini Jadhav (SS)

The ruling alliance deliberated till the last day of filing nominations from this seat and finalised the name of Yamini Jadhav from Shinde-led Sena. She will take on incumbent Arvind Sawant in an area known to be part of one of the strongholds of Thackeray-led Sena.