Raj Thackeray has announced his party’s candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. Following his declaration that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will fight the elections independently, Thackeray has now revealed the names of two candidates.

During his visit to Solapur district, Thackeray announced the candidates at a press conference held at the government rest house. According to the party's statement, Bala Nandgaonkar will be the MNS candidate from the Sewri Assembly constituency in Mumbai, while Dilip Dhotre will contest from the Pandharpur Assembly constituency.

Who will they face?

In the Shivdi Assembly constituency in Mumbai, Ajay Chaudhary of Thackeray’s Shiv Sena is the current MLA. Chaudhary is a staunch Shiv Sainik with strong connections in the constituency. The areas in this constituency are considered traditional strongholds of the Shiv Sena. Therefore, Bala Nandgaonkar will face a tough contest here. The outcome may also depend on which alliance the constituency falls under.

In the Pandharpur Assembly constituency, the current MLA is BJP’s Samadhan Autade, who took over the seat following the death of former MLA Bharat Bhalke. Autade won the seat in a by-election against Bhagirath Bhalke. Now, Dilip Dhotre from MNS will challenge him.

Who is Dilip Dhotre?

Dilip Dhotre, who is contesting from Pandharpur, is a loyal follower of Raj Thackeray. He has been with Thackeray since his time in the Shiv Sena. After leaving Shiv Sena, Dhotre has been a staunch supporter of Thackeray in Solapur district. He is well-known in Solapur and currently holds a leadership position in MNS. The party believes he can pose a significant challenge to the established candidates in Pandharpur. The possibility of this constituency being acquired by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance is also there, depending on what moves Sharad Pawar makes.

Although Thackeray had previously announced that MNS would fight the elections independently, there were speculations that he might reconsider and discuss with the Maha Yuti alliance. With the announcement of the candidates, it seems unlikely that Thackeray will backtrack on his decision.