Will Shinde retain his hold on home turf?

In the broader Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) beyond Mumbai, which is the backbone of Maharashtra ’s economy and a vibrant urban centre, stakes are high for both the Mahayuti and the MVA but especially so for CM Eknath Shinde as his home turf of Thane is part of it. The region is witnessing an intense tussle for seats within the Mahayuti with BJP , while acknowledging the CM’s position, not wanting to concede seats to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Thane which it has fought earlier.

The MMR, spread over Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts, has 65 assembly seats, of which 36 are in Mumbai. In 2019, BJP won 16 seats in Mumbai and 10 in the rest of MMR. The undivided Shiv Sena on the other hand won 14 seats in Mumbai and seven in the rest of MMR.

The four seats within Thane considered the dominion of CM Shinde, have become the centre of attention for assembly polls as the two Shiv Senas will try their best to capture these. At present UBT Sena doesn’t have any representation in these four seats — Ovala Majiwada (Pratap Sarnaik-SS), Kopri-Panchpakhadi (Eknath Shinde-SS), Thane (Sanjay Kelkar-BJP) and Mumbra Kalwa (Jitendra Awhad-NCP SP), all of which are located within the Thane civic corporation limits.


Thane Sena (UBT) neta and ex-MP Rajan Vichare said the party was confident of a turnaround in the assembly results as the public has witnessed “betrayal” by their rivals (Shinde) and “rampant corruption in Thane corporation controlled by Mahayuti.”

“Thane corporation in their (Shinde Sena) tenure has become a hotbed of corruption. Their own ally (BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar) has consistently raised questions and alleged corruption in TMC. The corporation was once financially stable but has to rely on state grants every month. Voters have also not liked how they (Shinde) used Anand Digheto to polish their own image in the recently released Dighe biopic sequel. People will teach these ‘traitors’ a lesson in the polls,” he added.

However, Shinde Sena is not just basking in the 2024 Thane & Kalyan (from where CM Shinde’s son Shrikant won) LS victory but says it is banking on initiatives taken by its leader Shinde during his tenure as the chief minister.

“The LS poll results have shown the affiliation of residents towards Shinde saheb. Anyone can see the works done during his tenure as CM. We are confident that the goodwill will help us not just in Thane but across the state. The opposition has been trying to politicise certain issues, but people are intelligent enough to see through their words,” said Sena MP Naresh Mhaske.


A BJP said every party will hold the seats it has won in the last state polls. “There is no conflict on this issue. Recently Dipesh Mhatre, who has been close to MP Shrikant Shinde, quit the Shinde Sena and joined Shiv Sena (UBT) as he wants to contest from Dombivli where PWD minister Ravindra Chavan is sitting BJP MLA. It was clear he would not get the seat,” said the source.

On BJP increasing its seat share in MMR, the source said in Palghar, BJP is keen to contest on Dahanuwon by CPI-M’s Vinod Nikole in the last polls. “The other seat it is eyeing is Mira-Bhayandar won by Independent candidate, Geeta Jain,” said the source. Chavan has also been aggressive about expanding the party in Thane, in particular in the KalyanDombivli-Ulhasnagar belt.

Another source said that with the BJP keen to fight more seats in Mumbai, Shinde could demand more seats in Thane and beyond, which are his strongholds. “Already BJP neta in Navi Mumbai Ganesh Naik is unhappy about Shinde trying to make inroads into Navi Mumbai,” the source said.

BJP is also trying to expand in the Palghar district. “Its MP candidate Dr Hemant Savra won a decisive victory despite the opposition to Vadhavan port. The party has a voter base among Gujaratis, Hindi-speaking migrants from Uttar Pradesh and a section of the Marathi populace. It may reach an understanding with Hitendra Thakur’s Bahujan Vikas Aghadi,” the source explained.