MNS names candidates for five seats,3 are corporators

Ranjit Shirole is the candidate from Parvati constituency. Shirole contested his first Lok Sabha polls in April,garnering an impressive share of 75,000 votes. Ashish Chitnis,a city unit office-bearer of MNS,is the candidate for Shivajinagar.

“With the kind of energizing results we got during the recent Lok Sabha polls,we have proved that we can reach the masses. Hence,this time we are all the more confident,” Ravindra Dhangekar said.

When asked whether he would be able to give a fight to seasoned politician and sitting MLA Girish Bapat of the BJP,Dhangekar said,“People are weary of the old and want a change. I am confident that they would elect me.”

Vasant More (35) said that he had embarked on his campaign a month ago,even before the formal announcement of his name on Monday. “I have now finished the first round of my door-to-door campaign and am fully prepared with all the campaign material and polling agents. Out of the 3.45 lakh voters in Hadapsar,the 36,000 young voters are sure to support MNS,” he said.

Thirty-three-year-old Kishor Shinde feels that the announcement of his candidature has come as a reward for the work he has done in the last two and a half years in his ward and before that as an active member of students group. “Since people know me as a corporator it is easy to reach out,” he said.

For Shirole,the Lok Sabha experience comes as an added advantage. “Even though I could not win in the Lok Sabha elections,I have learnt a lot from it. As compared to the geographical expanse of the Lok Sabha constituency,this time the constituency is much smaller and therefore,I will be able to reach out to more people,“ he said.

The second list will announce the names of candidates for Cantonment,Wadgaonsheri and Khadakwasla constituencies,MNS office-bearers said.