Kem Cho Worli: Shiv Sena puts up posters of Aditya Thackeray in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Days after announcing that Aditya Thackeray will contest the upcoming assembly election in Maharashtra from the Worli seat in Mumbai, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Wednesday put up posters of its young leader to woo voters.

According to news agency ANI, several posters of Aditya Thackeray have been put up in Worli, which read ''Kem Cho Worli''.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena puts up posters of Aditya Thackeray which say 'How are you Worli?' in different languages. He is contesting #MaharashtraAssemblyPolls from Worli constituency. https://t.co/kurUjKEGT7 pic.twitter.com/CpgCaGr1r1 — ANI (@ANI) October 2, 2019

After announcing his candidature, the party has launched an extensive campaign for Aditya, who is being projected as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister if the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance wins in the assembly election.  Shiv Sena had last week announced that the 29-year old grandson of party founder the late Bal Thackeray will stand from the prestigious Worli seat in south-central Mumbai.

The development came amidst the uncertainty over Sena's proposed poll tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Aditya Thackeray will be the first member from the Thackeray family to enter the electoral fray after Shalini Thackeray, the wife of Jeetendra Thackeray, a cousin of MNS founder Raj Thackeray, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Aditya Thackeray, a BA and LlB, is the son of Uddhav and Rashmi Thackeray and has a younger brother, Tejas Thackeray. While a section of the party has been projecting Aditya Thackeray as the chief ministerial candidate of Shiv Sena, others have been clamouring for Uddhav Thackeray to take the plunge himself -- developments that have not gone down well with Sena`s wary ally, the BJP.

Ostensibly preparing the groundwork for his candidacy, Aditya Thackeray had toured the state extensively during his `Jan Aashirwad Yatra`.

Currently represented by Sena MLA Sunil Shinde, the Worli seat was earlier held by former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Sachin Ahir, who left the NCP to join the Shiv Sena two months ago.

Aditya Thackeray was appointed as the Yuva Sena President in 2010 and was subsequently named a `leader` of the Shiv Sena in 2018.
A fitness and sports enthusiast, he is also the President of the Mumbai District Football Association.

He enjoys a considerable degree of popularity among the Gen Next and is presently championing the cause for protecting the Aarey Milk Colony, a green lung of Mumbai in Goregaon, where the government plans to construct a car shed for Metro Line 3.

The BJP and Shiv Sena contested the 2014 state assembly elections separately after they failed to arrive at a seat-sharing formula. However, they formed the government in the alliance after the elections as none of them was able to secure the majority on its own. The last date of submission of nomination forms is October 4.

The Election Commission has announced single-phase voting for 288-member Maharashtra Assembly on October 21 and the counting of votes is scheduled on October 24.