Real Sena? Polls will decide that

The line-up became clear on Wednesday as candidates for all the six seats were announced by the major parties. In three seats, the rival factions of Sena are pitted against each other

- S BALAKRISHNAN

Even though the Election Commission of India (ECI) had declared the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena, the May 20 Lok Sabha election will decide which indeed is the real deal: the one led by Shinde or Uddhav Thackeray.

The split in the Sena has divided the Marathi manoos, who formed a solid vote bank for the party founded by the late Bal Thackeray. The battle line-up became clear Wednesday as candidates for all the six parliamentary seats were announced by the major parties. In three seats, the rival factions of the Shiv Sena are pitted against each other.

In Mumbai South, sitting MP Arvind Sawant, a staunch Thackeray loyalist, is being challenged by Yamini Jadhav, Shiv Sena MLA from Byculla.

It is an uneven battle because in terms of political stature, parliamentary experience, and articulation, Sawant is streets ahead of Jadhav, who is the wife of controversial exchairman of the standing committee of the BMC.

While Sawant won the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019 and is familiar to voters of Mumbai South, Jadhav is an unknown quantity outside of Byculla. Sawant is being supported by the Congress, whose popular MLA Amin Patel can be expected to swing Muslim votes in favour of the Shiv Sena (UBT). There is also tremendous resentment among BJP cadres over their party's decision to surrender the prestigious seat to the Shiv Sena. It will not be sur prising if they do not campaign for Jadhav with enthusiasm. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has retained much of the organisational structure of the undivided Shiv Sena in this constituency and this will help Sawant.