Nashik/Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) Shiv Sena candidate Hemant Godse and Union minister Dr Bharati Pawar of the BJP on Thursday filed their nominations for Nashik and Dindori Lok Sabha constituencies in north Maharashtra, respectively.
Shiv Sena candidate and sitting Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde — Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son — also filed his nomination from the Kalyan constituency near Mumbai.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the NCP took out a grand procession before Dr Pawar and Godse, both sitting MPs, filed their papers at the Nashik collector’s office.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Nashik district guardian minister Dadaji Bhuse, state ministers Girish Mahajan, Chhagan Bhujbal and other leaders of the alliance were present on the occasion.
CM Shinde said Nashik and Dindori were bastions of the Shiv Sena-BJP and expressed confidence that both the Mahayuti candidates will win with huge margins as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has achieved in ten years what Congress could not do in 60 years of its rule.
Godse, notably, had defeated united Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) candidate Chhagan Bhujbal from Nashik in 2014, and his nephew Sameer Bhujbal in 2019. Chhagan Bhujbal, now a Cabinet minister and member of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, was keen on contesting from the seat this time, but pulled out of the race later.
Godse’s main rival in the election would be Rajabhau Waje of the Shiv Sena (UBT).
Bharati Pawar was earlier with the undivided NCP. She joined the BJP and won from Dindori in 2019 in the first attempt, and was later made Union Minister of State for Health.
She will face Dr Bhaskar Bhagare of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
In Kalyan, chief minister Shinde and deputy CM Fadnavis held a massive roadshow for Shrikant Shinde before he filed his nomination.
Later, addressing a gathering in Kalyan, CM Shinde said his son has an exemplary track record as the Member of Parliament from the constituency in Thane district.
He urged Shiv Sena workers to mobilize voters and ensure high turnout on the election day (May 20).
The Chief Minister said every vote for Shrikant Shinde will be an endorsement for PM Modi’s vision of a prosperous India.
Nashik, Dindori and Kalyan are among 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra that will vote on May 20 in the fifth phase of elections. PTI PR COR KRK RSY
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