Sena chief’s strategic move on Shrikant Shinde’s turf in focus as key constituency gears up for the polls
Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray
One-and-a-half years after the split, Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray will visit the Kalyan Dombivali Constituency. Kalyan Dombivali is another stronghold area of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, where his son, Dr Shrikant Shinde, is the MP of the constituency. Following the split in June 2022, party workers demanded that the party chief should visit Kalyan Dombivali constituency. Some senior office bearers even resigned from their party posts due to Uddhav’s absence from the constituency. However, after a meeting with Thackeray, office bearers withdrew their resignations. Finally, Uddhav is scheduled to visit various places in Kalyan Dombivali constituency on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
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“Uddhav Thackeray will visit party offices (shakhas) at Tilak Nagar, Newali, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan East, Dombivali, Kalyan Rural, Kalwa and Mumbra,” said Vijay Salavi, the city chief of Kalyan Dombivali. “The party chief will meet karyakarta and have discussions with them in party offices,” Salavi added. Kalyan Dombivali is a significant area for Eknath Shinde after Thane city. His son Dr Shinde has been elected as MP from this constituency twice since 2014. After the split, 45 out of 56 former corporators of Kalyan Dombivali constituency pledged their support to Shiv Sena under Shinde’s leadership.
Meanwhile, Thackeray has started taking reviews of all Lok Sabha constituencies where an undivided Shiv Sena candidate won the 2019 election. Kalyan Dombivali is one of these constituencies, and sources suggest that Thackeray has decided to field candidates for the Lok Sabha election from all constituencies where Shiv Sena candidates emerged victorious in 2019. Shiv Sena had secured wins in 18 Lok Sabha constituencies. According to sources, Raj Thackeray’s party MNS has also decided to contest the election in the Kalyan Dombivali constituency, and MLA of Kalyan Rural, Raju Patil, will run for the Lok Sabha election.