Shinde-led Sena drops two MPs; fields Rajashree Patil in Yavatmal, Kohlikar in Hingoli

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Shiv Sena on Thursday fielded Rajashree Patil, wife of Hingoli MP Hemant Patil, from Yavatmal-Washim Lok Sabha constituency in eastern Maharashtra in place of the party's sitting MP Bhavana Gawli. In Hingoli in central Maharashtra, the party led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde replaced sitting MP Hemant Patil, giving ticket to Baburao Kadam-Kohlikar instead.

The party had declared Hemant Patil's candidature in its first list, but replaced him following opposition from the local unit of its ally BJP. Kohlikar is the Hingoli district unit president of the Shiv Sena.

The Sena has declared candidates for nine seats so far. The party has so far dropped three sitting MPs including Ramtek MP Krupal Tumane.

It is also likely to drop Mumbai North-West MP Gajanan Kirtikar as the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Kirtikar's son Amol Kirtikar from there. There is also uncertainty over the candidature of Shiv Sena's Nashik MP Hemant Godse as its allies BJP and NCP have staked claim to the north Maharashtra seat.

Rajashree Patil and Kohlikar submitted their nomination papers on Thursday in chief minister's Shinde's presence before respective returning officers. Rajashree Patil will face off against Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Deshmukh in Yavatmal-Washim, while Kohlikar will take on Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, also from the rival Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray.