Former Maharashtra minister and Prahar Janshakti Paksh chief Bacchu Kadu on Thursday said he will join the ruling Shiv Sena and file his nomination for the upcoming legislative council elections, news agency PTI reported.
Nine council members, including Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) President and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, are set to retire on May 13.
Polling for the nine Member of Legislative Council (MLC) seats and a bypoll to one seat in the council will be held on May 12, while the deadline for filing nominations is 3 pm on Thursday, April 30.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Kadu said he met Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde late on Wednesday night and placed before him his demands regarding the hardships faced by farmers, farm labourers and divyang (differently-abled) people.
“He (Shinde) assured me of support for my causes, and therefore I have decided to join the Shiv Sena. I will file my nomination for the MLC election as a Shiv Sena candidate,” said Kadu.
“I lost the 2024 election, but I still managed to get the demand for farmers` loan relief approved by the state government. The government also accepted my demand to enhance financial assistance for divyang people in the state,” he added.
BJP names five candidates, MVA likely to secure one seat
Noting that his political journey began with the Shiv Sena, Kadu said his return should not be seen as unfamiliar.
“I am not new to the party; I am returning after a gap,” he added.
Kadu had left the then undivided Shiv Sena in 1999 and later founded the Prahar Janshakti Paksh in Amravati district of the Vidarbha region.
Among the ruling Mahayuti partners, the BJP has nominated five candidates — Pramod Jathar, Sunil Vinayak Karjatkar, Madhavi Naik, Sanjay Natthuji Bhende and Vivek Bipindada Kolhe. It has also fielded Pradnya Rajeev Satav for the bypoll to one seat, necessitated due to her resignation as a Congress MLC.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance is in a position to win only one of the seats.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said that party leader Ambadas Danve will be its nominee.
(With PTI inputs)
