Pune: After a vertical split and changed equations that resulted in formation of two major alliances in Maharashtra politics , Maha Vikas Aghadi and Mahayuti, this assembly poll will be the first battle for the two factions of Shiv Sena . However, the two camps are facing an uphill task as several constituencies where they now aim to emerge victorious were never won by the undivided Sena. Uddhav Thackeray 's Shiv Sena (UBT) is fighting in 27 such assembly segments while the faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde has fielded candidates in nine seats, data available with the Election Commission of India shows.
Two constituencies — Nevasa and Boisar — will see a showdown between two groups. Sena (UBT), with support from Congress and NCP (SCP), looks to expand its base to several constituencies that were most of the time contested by BJP in the Sena-BJP alliance, except for 2014 when the two saffron parties fought separately. Many senior politicians, who either joined the party before the announcement of the Nov 20 election or during the Lok Sabha poll held earlier this year, have been nominated in some of the 27 seats.
For instance, three-term MLA Anil Gote, who was earlier with BJP, has been chosen for Dhule City constituency while for Georai, the party has picked Badamrao Pandit, another three-term MLA, who was associated with the undivided NCP. Former BJP MLA and Lok Sabha MP Unmesh Patil, who switched to Sena (UBT) after he was denied a ticket for the parliamentary .
