Lok Sabha elections 2024: Shiv Sena fields Minister Sandeepan Bhumre from Aurangabad seat

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Saturday announced the candidature of State Minister Sandeepan Bhumre from the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat in Maharashtra.

Bhumre, who helms the Employment Guarantee Scheme and Horticulture ministries, will take on Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Chandrakant Khaire and AIMIM's Imtiaz Jaleel from the Aurangabad seat (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar).

With Bhumre's nomination, the Shiv Sena has so far declared candidates for 11 seats, including Mumbai South Central and Kalyan.

The Shiv Sena is part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Polling in the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat will be held on May 13 in the fourth phase of the general elections.

Aurangabad had been won by the undivided Shiv Sena six times since 1989, but five years ago, the party suffered a setback when its veteran leader Khaire faced an unexpected defeat at the hands of Jaleel, who won by a narrow margin of less than 4,500 votes.