Eknath Shinde's son Shrikant visits Worli, keeps mum on alliance candidate

Whilst reviewing his party's electoral preparations in the constituency, Shinde remained tight-lipped about the Mahayuti alliance's candidate for the seat

Mumbai: Shrikant Shinde, Member of Parliament and son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, visited the Worli assembly constituency on Sunday as part of his 'Jansanvad Yatra', a public outreach programme. Whilst reviewing his party's electoral preparations in the constituency, Shinde remained tight-lipped about the Mahayuti alliance's candidate for the seat.

Shrikant Shinde, Member of Parliament and son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shind

"The leadership of the alliance will decide who will contest the Worli seat from Mahayuti," Shinde said, maintaining an air of mystery around the potential candidate. The Worli seat is currently held by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray.

Shinde, who represents the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, has embarked on the 'Jansanvad Yatra' to assess his party's readiness for the upcoming polls across various assembly constituencies. His visit to Worli on Sunday is particularly noteworthy, as the constituency is poised for a high-profile electoral battle. Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are gearing up to contest the seat, intensifying their efforts to challenge the incumbent, Thackeray scion Aaditya.

"During the Jansanvad Yatra, we are reviewing the poll preparations with a focus on various aspects such as groundwork, social media utilisation, and the promotion of government schemes," Shinde explained. "The Worli visit is part of the yatra across various constituencies of Mumbai. We are meeting party workers directly to understand the situation on the ground. This is not about claiming any seat."

Shinde's visit has added Shiv Sena to the list of potential claimants for the Worli seat, alongside the BJP and MNS.

In the 2019 assembly polls, Aaditya Thackeray made history as the first member of the Thackeray family to contest elections when he ran for the Worli seat, long considered a party stronghold. He secured a comfortable victory. However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Arvind Sawant from the Mumbai South Lok constituency managed only a slim lead of 6,715 votes from the Worli assembly segment. This narrow margin has raised concerns for both the Thackeray faction and Aaditya himself.