Maharashtra Assembly elections: MNS’s Amit Thackeray faces a triangular contest in Mahim

Amit Thackeray faces tough competition in Mahim as he files nomination against Shiv Sena's Sada Sarvankar.

Amit Thackeray, son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, filed his nomination on Monday (October 28, 2024) to contest from Mahim constituency. However, winning the seat is not going to be cakewalk for him as Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s candidate Sada Sarvankar has refused to withdraw from the fray and is determined to fight from the constituency. The Shiv Sena and the MNS are in the Mahayuti camp.

A two-time MLA, incumbent Mr. Sarvankar reiterated his claim on Mahim by announcing that he would file his nomination on October 29. “Let’s be witnesses to a historical victory, let’s go for filling the form at 9 a.m.,” he posted on X, inviting people of Mahim to join him for his nomination. He is still in discussion with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over his candidacy.

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Ashish Shelar expressed support to Amit Thackeray and expected the Shiv Sena too to back him. Mr. Shelar on Saturday lent his support to Mr. Thackeray and said that the Mahayuti too should back his candidacy. Shiv Sena leader and Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar also backed Mr. Thackeray, reasoning that Mr. Raj Thackeray gave “unconditional support” to the Mahayuti during the Lok Sabha elections. However, the Mahayuti has not formally announced support for Mr. Amit Thackeray.

After filing the nomination on Monday, Mr. Amit Thackeray dodged questions on Sada Sarvankar and said, “I am not looking at who is competing with me. I will do my work honestly; the rest is in the hands of people, and we will come to know about it on the result day.”

Mr. Sarvankar, who won twice (2014 and 2019) from Mahim as an undivided Shiv Sena candidate, has a substantial following in the region. In the 2019 Assembly election, he polled 61,337 votes defeating MNS’s Sandeep Deshpande, who got 42,690 votes.

Mahim is the home turf of undivided Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) fielding Mahesh Sawant, who has a strong presence in the region, also poses a hurdle for Mr. Amit Thackeray, who is a debutant in Maharashtra and Mumbai politics.

MNS’s Nitin Sardesai won from Mahim in 2009. Experts believe that the party being a new entrant and posing as a challenger to the Shiv Sena could have helped it then. However, the party lost in 2014 and 2019 to the undivided Shiv Sena. Considering all these factors, a tough contest awaits Mr. Amit Thackeray in Mahim.