Overview
- Former Nashik mayors Dashrath Patil and Ashok Murtadak joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Mumbai in the presence of party chief Eknath Shinde, with senior leaders Dadaji Bhuse, Hemant Godse and Ajay Boraste attending.
- Nitin Bhosale, a former MNS MLA, formally entered the Shiv Sena in Nashik with a large group of supporters after taking the saffron flag, with several local figures including Rajendra Limbalkar and Prashant Thackeray also joining.
- Patil’s move followed a BJP ticket row in which his son Prem Patil’s candidature was dropped after relative Dinkar Patil joined the BJP and his son Amol received the Satpur ward ticket.
- Murtadak had been denied a BJP ticket from ward 6 and had contested as an independent from ward 5 with Shiv Sena support before formalizing his entry into the party.
- MNS leader Santosh Dhuri shifted to the BJP ahead of the BMC polls, alleging the MNS was shortchanged in seat-sharing with Shiv Sena (UBT), and was welcomed by Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam.