Maharashtra Assembly Election: Shiv Sena-Shinde MLA Sarvankar refuses to withdraw nomination from Mahim

Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MLA from Mahim, Sada Sarvankar, has refused to withdraw his nomination from the seat despite the pressure on him from both his party as well as the BJP leadership. "I have said this again and again, I will not withdraw from the contest... The people of my constituency want me to contest. I cannot disappoint my cadres who want me to contest and I will not just contest but also win," said Sarvankar on Friday. The Shiv Sena (Shinde) leadership and BJP want Sarvankar to withdraw from the contest in favour of Amit Thackeray, who is contesting his maiden election from Mahim. Amit is the son of MNS president Raj Thackeray, and BJP and Sena leadership want Amit to have a smoother entry into the Maharashtra assembly.

The deal being worked behind the scenes is that in return, the MNS would withdraw its candidate Sandeep Deshpande from Worli seat where Sena's Milind Deora (Shinde) is fighting against Aaditya Thackeray of UBT Sena. The deal would benefit the Shinde-led Sena as it doesn't want a tri-cornered contest with the MNS that would benefit Aaditya.