Will Shiv Sena’s youth wing president Aditya Thackeray contest the Maharashtra Assembly polls from Worli constituency in south-central Mumbai?
Though there is no official confirmation from the Shiv Sena in this regard, speculation doing rounds in the state political circles is that the Sena might field Aditya from Worli constituency in place of its sitting MLA Sunil Shinde in the 2019 Assembly polls due in October this year.
Aditya, whose entry to the electoral politics is more or less certain now, is understood to have shown preference to Worli as a constituency from where he intends to contest the Assembly polls. Worli has become a safe seat for Aditya for two reasons: First, it is currently held by Sunil Shinde, who had defeated then NCP candidate Sachin Ahir by a margin of 23,012 votes in the 2014 polls. Secondly, Ahir — who had won the Worli seat in the 2009 polls as an NCP candidate in the 2009 Assembly polls — is already in the Sena’s fold. Both Ahir and Shinde have done considerable work in Worli constituency.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena is considering putting up Ahir — who joined its fold on Thursday — from Byaculla constituency, a seat that is currently held by Waris Pathan of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM). Pathan had won the Byculla seat by a narrow margin of 1,357 seats over BJP’s Madhu Chavan in the 2014 Assembly polls.