The Shiv Sena, under the leadership of Eknath Shinde on Tuesday, announced Yamini Jadhav as its nominee for the Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency, where she will contest against the incumbent Sena UBT MP Arvind Sawant.
Yamini Jadhav was one of the 39 MLAs who expressed allegiance to Shinde when he rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray in June 2022.
Jadhav, a former corporator and first-time MLA, is the spouse of Yashwant Jadhav, the former chairman of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) standing committee.
Currently representing Byculla, Jadhav will contest against Arvind Sawant, the sitting MP from Mumbai South and an ally of Thackeray, who is also a former Union minister.
Under Shinde’s leadership, the Shiv Sena has already nominated Rahul Shewale, the incumbent MP, for the Mumbai South Central constituency.
Yashwant Jadhav, a three-time corporator, secured his first election victory in 1997 representing the Mazgaon area. Following his third consecutive win in the 2017 corporation election, he assumed the position of chairman of the standing committee, a pivotal panel vested with authority to authorize expenditure proposals and endorse budgets.
Mumbai comprises six constituencies, categorized into two divisions: city and suburban. The city division encompasses Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central constituencies, while the suburban division includes Mumbai North Central, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North West, and Mumbai North constituencies.
The Mumbai North West constituency comprises six assembly segments, with the BJP currently holding three, Shiv Sena (led by Shinde) one, and Sena (UBT) two.
In the 2019 elections, of the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, the BJP and erstwhile ally Shiv Sena (undivided) each won three seats.
Elections for all six Lok Sabha seats are scheduled for May 20, with the deadline for filing nomination papers set for May 3. Mumbai city has a total of 24.59 lakh voters, while the suburbs have registered a total of 74 lakh voters this year.