Lok Sabha elections: Two candidates fighting to represent 'real' Shiv Sena in Mumbai North West seat

The contest in North West Mumbai Lok Sabha seat is not only interesting but confusing also for the voters and both the main candidates fighting from here claim to represent the "real" Shiv Sena. That is not the only thing connecting Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Sena leader Amol Kirtikar and his rival Jogeshwari East MLA Ravindra Waikar from the Shinde camp of Sena. Both have allegations of being involved in scams against them and both are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.

Kirtikar is the son of Gajanan Kirtikar, current MP from the seat. After the Shiv Sena split, the MP joined the Shinde faction whereas the son preferred to stay back with the UBT camp. Amol has been rewarded for his "loyalty" by his party by giving him the ticket even when the Congress was very keen to contest the seat as it wanted to field Sanjay Nirupam from here.

Read: Tamil Nadu Elections Result 2024 Live


Chief minister Eknath Shinde after looking at a number of permutations and combinations finally gave the ticket to a reluctant Waikar. The Jogeshwari East MLA, who was a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray, moved to the Shinde faction in April this year. The BJP has been alleging that Waikar has dubious property deals with Uddhav's family. He was also facing a probe by the ED in connection with the construction of a luxury hotel in Jogeshwari.


Just a week ago, Waikar created a controversy when in an interview to a newspaper he claimed that he was "forced" to leave the UBT Sena as he was threatened with jail in the ED case. But later, he organised a press conference and claimed that his words were distorted.

Read: AP Election Results 2024 Live Updates

His rival Amol Kirtikar is also being probed by the ED in connection with the 'Kichdi scam' which related to the khichdi (steamed rice and pulses) provided to migrants during the Covid wave. Amol had gotten a head start in the elections as Uddhav had signaled in March that he would be the candidate from the constituency whereas Waikar entered into the contest on April 30. Amol has been calling Waikar "a traitor" and has been appealing to the Marathi voters to vote for him claiming that the UBT Sena is the "real" Sena and that Waikar betrayed Uddhav.

Read: Election Results 2024 Live Updates

Waikar is also claiming that he represents the "real" Shiv Sena. Despite entering the fray quite late, Waikar seems to be on a solid footing due to the demographic of the constituency which has six lakh Marathi voters, whereas the north Indian community vote is close to 3.80 lakh.

The Muslim community is around 3.20 lakh whereas the Gujarati population is around 1.90 lakhs. The north Indian community, especially in Mumbai and the Western suburbs in particular, has been voting for the BJP for the past decade.

Sanjay Nirupam has also been campaigning for Waikar among the north Indian community. Another person campaigning for Waikar among the north Indian community is Pradeep Sharma who was arrested by the NIA in connection with the Antilia-Mansukh Hiren murder case.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Gajanan Kirtikar had defeated Nirupam by a margin of 2.60 lakh votes. The BJP believes that the 2.60 lakh margin would not matter as the BJP was part of the alliance with the Shi Sena before the split.