Maharashtra Elections 2024: Sena Vs Sena war for 11 Assembly seats around city

Manisha Waikar got a ticket for Jogeshwari East. Pic/Satej Shinde

Out of 36 Assembly constituencies, it will be a Sena Vs Sena battle in 11. Currently, the Sena UBT holds seven of these 11 constituencies, while the remaining are with Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MLAs.

While the two rival parties battle it out, the number of seats where they are contesting against the other is lower than seen in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, when the two Senas stood against each other in half the seats. The 11 constituencies have majorly Marathi-dominated voters and are the traditional vote bank of the undivided Sena.

In the Lok Sabha election, Shiv Sena contested against the Sena UBT for three seats - Mumbai North West, South Central and South Mumbai - of the total six seats in Mumbai. The Sena UBT won two seats while Shiv Sena managed only the Mumbai North West seat with a margin of just 48 votes. Now in the Assembly elections, there are six parties in the foray.

Out of 11 constituencies that will see Sena battles, four are in the western suburbs - Magathane, Dindohi, Jogeshwari East and Andheri East. The four Assembly constituencies in the Eastern suburbs are Vikhroli, Chembur, Bhandup West and Kurla. The remainder - Mahim, Worli and Byculla - are in Mumbai city. All of these areas are Marathi strongholds and there are chances that these votes will be divided.

Both parties have repeated their candidates and Shiv Sena offered a ticket to Manisha Waikar, wife of Ravindra Waikar who won the Jogeshwari East seat in 2019 and is the current MP of the Mumbai North West constituency after winning by a margin of 48 votes in the Lok Sabha election.