LS Polls: Former Maharashtra minister Babanrao Gholap joins Shiv Sena

Soon after joining the Shiv Sena, Gholap said that the Shiv Sena (UBT) had done injustice to him.

"UBT Shiv Sena has done injustice to me, they removed me from the party post and when I asked them why, I was sacked. They didn't reply so I decided to join Shiv Sena. Eknath Shinde has given a positive reply, and whatever post is given to me, I will do justice to it," he said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Saturday that CM Eknath Shinde's son and Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde will contest from Kalyan in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Deputy CM dismissed the speculations of a dispute in the Mahayuti alliance and said that Shrikant Shinde is the candidate of Mahayuti from Kalyan.

Mahayuti is an alliance of the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra.

Earlier, sitting BJP MP from Jalgaon, Unmesh Patil, joined the Uddhav Bal Thackeray (UBT) on Wednesday after being denied the ticket from the seat.

Jalgaon MP Unmesh Patil joined the UBT in Matoshree, the residence of Uddhav Thackeray, in the presence of the party chief, Sanjay Raut and other senior party leaders.

The UBT Sena is fighting the Maharashtra polls in alliance with the Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar) and the Congress after the breakdown of talks for seat sharing with the Prakash Ambedkar led Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi.

Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

The state, with its 48 Lok Sabha seats, is the second-largest contributor to the lower house of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh. Known for its political diversity and significant electoral influence, Maharashtra plays a crucial role in shaping national politics.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP emerged as the largest party with 23 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena (undivided) with 18 seats. (ANI)