After Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s statement that the Shirur Lok Sabha seat in Pune district would be back in the Sena’s kitty in the 2024 parliamentary election raised eyebrows, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar dismissed Mr. Raut’s comments as mere ‘pep talk’, calculated to enthuse his partymen.
Mr. Raut, who has been actively campaigning to expand the Sena’s presence outside Mumbai and the Konkan, recently said that former Sena MP of Shirur Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil would be back in the Lok Sabha after the 2024 General Elections.
The Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, along with Sharad Pawar’s NCP and the Congress share power in the State in the form of the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ coalition.