Maharashtra council polls: Ex-minister Bacchu Kadu to contest as Shiv Sena candidate

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. Speaking to reporters here, Kadu said he met Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde late Wednesday night and placed before him his demands regarding the hardships faced by farmers, farm labourers and divyang differently-abled people.

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. Nine council members, including Shiv Sena (UBT) president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, are retiring on May 13. Polling for the nine MLC seats and a bypoll to one seat in the council will be held on May 12. The deadline for nomination filing is 3 pm on Thursday. Speaking to reporters here, Kadu said he met Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde late 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,'' he said. ''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,'' Kadu said. Noting that his political journey had begun 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 went on to establish 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 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 stated that party leader Ambadas Danve will be its nominee.