Unrest has been reported in the Congress camp after the launch of the Lok Sabha election campaign by Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray from South Mumbai. Former MP Milind Deora has hinted at naming a candidate following the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance partner’s claim on the seat.
Leaders of the Shiv Sena have declared their intention to run from South Mumbai in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, despite the INDIA bloc currently debating seat distribution. Milind Deora is reportedly not thrilled about this.
In a video message directed to South Mumbai voters and supporters, Deora claims that an MVA alliance partner is “making a one-sided claim over the Lok Sabha seat.” “The representative for one of the parties that is a part of the MVA requested us (Congress) to start from zero. I don’t want to ignite a dispute or cause any problem. The same party then made a claim to that seat during a gathering on Friday night in Girgaon, South Mumbai. You (party members and supporters) were undoubtedly let down by their assertion. The Deora family has been fighting for the seat, which has been the traditional seat of the Congress, for the last 50 years. The Deora family is always there for the people of South Mumbai, even if I am not an MP.
“We have won this seat with the help of the work which we have done for the people over 50 years,” he said, further criticising the Shiv Sena UBT, which is sitting in the Lok Sabha. We now have a relationship with this constituency’s residents,” Deora said.
According to Deora, the MVA would not have an easy time in the next Lok Sabha elections. As a result, he has urged party employees and supporters to hold off on making any claims until the alliance negotiations on the seat are concluded. Deora also used a video to firmly address Shiv Sena UBT without claiming credit for it. According to Deora, “the Congress can also make a claim on the seat (South Mumbai) in such a scenario and may announce the candidate if no party is ready to wait till the final talks are over.”
Sena Shiv Since the two parties were adversaries before to the MVA’s establishment in 2019, UBT leader Arvind Sawant had defeated Congress candidate Milind Deora to win the South Mumbai assembly seat in the previous two elections.