28 March,2024 10:27 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ramdas Athawale. File Pic
Ramdas Athawale's Republican Party of India (A) (RPI-A) on Wednesday released its second list of seven candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 in Maharashtra.
The party fielded Dadasaheb Ovhal from Satara, Mahadev Howal from Sangli, Santosh Bichkule from Madha, Ravikant Bansode from Solapur (SC), Sachin Kharat from Baramati, Kailash Jogdand from Maval and Ashok Jagtap from Pune.
"National President of Republican Party of India (A) Deepakbhau Nikalje approved the names for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024," the party said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT), a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), on Wednesday released its first list of 17 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, and said it will contest a total of 22 seats in the state.
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It nominated former Union ministers Anant Geete and Arvind Sawant from Raigad and South Mumbai constituencies respectively.
It re-nominated all five sitting Lok Sabha MPs, who stayed with party chief Uddhav Thackeray, following the outfit's split in 2022. These lawmakers are Arvind Sawant (South Mumbai), Rajan Vichare (Thane), Vinayak Raut (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg), Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv) and Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani).
The Sena (UBT) also fielded its Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai from Mumbai South-Central, party leader Sanjay Raut said.
Desai's tenure is coming to an end next month.
With this, the party has now fielded four candidates from Mumbai.
Sawant had resigned as a Union minister after the undivided Shiv Sena quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the power-sharing agreement in Maharashtra.
Vichare represents Thane, the home turf of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion triggered a split in the Shiv Sena founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966.
The Sena (UBT) also fielded veteran party leader Chandrakant Khaire from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Khaire had lost to All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Imtiaz Jaleel in 2019.
From Mumbai North-East, the party fielded Sanjay Patil, a former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA and MP who later joined the Shiv Sena.
From Mumbai North-West, the party nominated Amol Kirtikar, son of Shiv Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar, who owes allegiance to CM Shinde-led Sena.
The party also named Narendra Khedekar as its candidate from Buldhana, Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal-Washim, Sanjay Wakchowre-Patil from Maval, Rajabhau Waje from Nashik, Bhausaheb Wakchaure from Shirdi and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar from Hingoli.
Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80), will vote in five phases starting from April 19.
