Mumbai’s Major Players: Piyush Goyal, Milind Deora, Arvind Sawant Among Top Contenders

Mumbai, 19th April 2024: The Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra are seeing intense competition with leading candidates such as Piyush Goyal, Vinod Ghosalkar, Ashish Shelar, Varsha Gaikwad, Rahul Shewale, Anil Desai, Milind Deora, Arvind Sawant, Sudhir Mungantiwar, and Pratibha Dhanorkar contesting across different constituencies. Here’s an overview of the major contenders in each constituency:

Mumbai North:
– BJP: Piyush Goyal (59), a long-standing Rajya Sabha MP, is running in his first Lok Sabha election. The BJP has traditionally performed well in this constituency, which has significant Gujarati and north-Indian populations.
– Sena (UBT): Vinod Ghosalkar (67), a former corporator and ex-MLA, is likely the Sena candidate. He returns to electoral politics following his son’s tragic death.

Mumbai North Central:
– BJP: Ashish Shelar (51), currently the BJP city chief, has roots in student politics and sports administration. His political career includes roles as an MLC and state assembly member.
– Congress: Varsha Gaikwad (49), a former state cabinet minister and four-time MLA representing Dharavi, maybe the Congress candidate due to her political experience and family connections.

Mumbai South Central:
– BJP: Rahul Shewale (50), a two-time sitting MP and engineer, has experience as a corporator and party leader.
– Sena (UBT): Anil Desai (66), a former Rajya Sabha member, is considered a Uddhav Thackeray loyalist and a key party strategist.

Mumbai North East:
– BJP: Mihir Kotecha (49), currently a Rajya Sabha member, is contesting his first Lok Sabha election. The constituency is a BJP stronghold with diverse communities.
– Sena (UBT): Sanjay Dina Patil (55) won as an MP in 2009 and later joined Sena in 2019. He has previous experience as an MLA.

Mumbai North West:
– Sena: Eknath Shinde, the chief minister, seeks a strong Marathi candidate against UBT’s Amol Kirtikar. The constituency features a diverse voter base, posing challenges in candidate selection.
– Sena (UBT): Amol Kirtikar (52), son of former Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar, has been nominated by Uddhav Thackeray. Known for his organizational skills, Amol is an active member of Yuva Sena.

Mumbai South:
– Sena: Milind Deora (probable), presents a challenging choice for Shinde as he must appeal to a varied electorate.
– Sena (UBT): Arvind Sawant (72), a two-time MP and former Union heavy industries minister, is a loyalist of Uddhav Thackeray and defeated Milind Deora in 2014 and 2019.