Maharashtra Polls: Milind Deora Files Nomination, Says 'Had Lot Of Expectations From Aditya Thackeray'

Deora joined the Sena before Lok Sabha elections this year and was subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha, where he has a six-year term left. He was with the Congress before the general elections.

Ruling Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha member Milind Deora filed his nomination in Mumbai's Worli assembly constituency, which will see a high-stakes battle as sitting MLA Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) is seeking a reelection from the seat.

Deora joined the Sena before the Lok Sabha elections this year and was subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha, where he has a six-year term left. He was with the Congress before the general elections.

Speaking on Aaditya Thackeray's performance in the constituency in the last five years, Deora said, "I don't want to make it negative, but I certainly see that there are a lot of opportunities, a lot of shortcomings in the last five years. There was a lot of hype, a lot of expectations."

He said he had a "lot of expectations" from Thackeray five years ago when he became an MLA from South Mumbai. "Unfortunately, he's failed to live up to those expectations, not just for me, but for the people of Worli as well. So we'll encounter those along the way in the next three weeks...The Maharashtra government has performed very well, whether it's social welfare, or infrastructure. And therefore people will re-elect this government," Deora added.

Shaina NC Files Nomination From Mumbadevi Assembly Seat

BJP spokesperson Shaina NC, who has joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, also filed her nomination for the Mumbadevi assembly seat. She will contest against sitting Congress MLA Amin Patel. Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23. Tuesday is the last day of filing of nominations. The deadline to withdraw from the contest is November 4. 

BJP Names 2 More Candidates

On the last day of filing of nomination papers, the BJP on Tuesday released the names of two more candidates for the assembly elections, which took the total count of its nominees to 148. Former MLA Narendra Mehta will contest from the Mira Bhayandar assembly segment in Thane district, while Sudhir Parwe will be fielded from Umred (SC) assembly segment in Nagpur district.