Shinde Sena tight-lipped over Maval seat as BJP, Ajit Pawar-led NCP mount pressure
Maval MP Shrirang Barne, who belongs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, expressed confidence that he will be fielded again from the seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
With both the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the BJP insisting that they be allowed to contest the Maval seat, the Shiv Sena has not been able to declare its list. (Express Photos)
While candidates for three Lok Sabha seats in Pune district have either been declared or finalised, the suspense over Maval seat continues with the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde yet to announce the name of the candidate. The Sena is now expected to release its list on Tuesday as it is still locked in discussions with the BJP and NCP over the seat-sharing arrangement.
With both the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the BJP insisting that they be allowed to contest the Maval seat, the Shiv Sena has not been able to declare its list.
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Sitting Maval MP Shrirang Barne, who belongs to the Shinde-led Sena, said, “I am expecting the list to be declared tomorrow (Tuesday). The chief minister has told me that it will be announced tomorrow.”
Asked whether Shinde had given him the green signal, Shrirang Barne said, “The chief minister…did not mention anything about my name being there.” The parliamentarian, however, said he was confident that his name would be in the Sena list and that he had already started campaigning. “Right from the beginning, I have been telling journalists that I will be renominated by the Shiv Sena from Maval seat. Tomorrow, we will see my name on the list,” he stressed.
The NCP has been more vocal with its demand to contest from Maval, putting its foot down and asking Barne to tell the voters what work he did for the constituency in the last five years. The Maval unit of the BJP too has expressed unhappiness over Barne’s style of functioning, alleging that the MP never took them into confidence while implementing state and central government projects.
Nevertheless, Barne claimed on Monday that there was no opposition to his candidacy. “The NCP and BJP are not opposing. But they are demanding the seat for their candidates. Every party has the right to demand a seat for themselves. There is nothing wrong with it,” he said.
The former Congress leader had joined the Shiv Sena and won two consecutive Lok Sabha elections from Maval. His most noteworthy performance was in the 2019 polls when he defeated Ajit Pawar’s son Parth by a huge margin despite the Pawar family going all out to capture the constituency.
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In 2022, when the Shiv Sena split, Barne joined the Eknath Shinde-led group as it joined hands with the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra.
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