Thane: Three rebel leaders – two from Congress and one from Shiv Sena (Shinde) –filed their nominations as independent candidates.
Sachin Pote from Kalyan East and Vilas Patil from Bhiwandi West were with Congress but the party did not give them tickets. Ignored by the Shiv Sena, Mahesh Gaikwad filed a nomination from Kalyan East.
Why Are Congress Workers From Kalyan & Thane Dissatisfied?
Congress workers from Kalyan and Thane are dissatisfied as the party has been allotted only two seats – Bhiwandi West to Dayanand Choraghe and MiraBhayandar to Muzaffar Hussain – out of 18 seats in Thane. With no seats for the Congress in Kalyan either, Pote decided to contest as an independent candidate.
Former mayor Vilas Patil, whose own party Konark Vikas Aghadi recently joined the Congress, expected a ticket from Bhiwandi West, which went to Choraghe.