Ahir can be formidable rival against Aaditya in 2029

Chaitanya.MarpakwarMumbai: Sachin Ahir’s exit from the Shiv Sena (UBT) has come as a setback for Aaditya Thackeray as Ahir could be a formidable candidate from the Worli assembly constituency and a potential political threat for Aaditya, who is MLA from that seat.

Political observers said the Dy CM Eknath Shinde-led Sena would prepare the ground in Worli for the 2029 assembly polls and pitch Ahir against Aaditya.Ahir, a former MLA from Worli, is known to have a grassroots network there, and with the backing of Shinde Sena and BJP, he could pose a significant challenge to Aaditya. In the 2024 assembly polls, Aaditya managed to win from the Worli constituency by a margin of just 8,801 votes.

This was a massive decrease in margin from the 2019 polls, when he had won by 67,427 votes. Aaditya defeated Sena’s Milind Deora in 2024.“In 2024, Milind Deora was fielded at the last minute and he was not a local. Ahir knows the constituency well and is a Worli local. He also has clout in the mill workers’ and other unions in central Mumbai, so that will also work to his advantage,” a political observer said.In 2019, Ahir had joined Shiv Sena on the eve of the assembly elections. Aaditya then fought from the Worli seat and eventually Ahir was given an MLC berth. Asked if he will fight the 2029 assembly polls from Worli, Ahir said on Tuesday, ”I will try to fulfil any responsibility that Eknath Shinde will give me with all my might.”In 2019, Sena’s Sunil Shinde was sitting MLA from Worli. He too was given an MLC berth to make way for Aaditya to fight the assembly polls virtually without any opposition.