Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora on Wednesday said for the first time in 20 years, he won't be contesting in a Lok Sabha election, but was looking forward to campaigning for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. He also said that this was the first time that he and his father Murli Deora "will not be on the ballot box in South Mumbai".
In a post on X, the former Congress leader, who joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in January, said, "For the first time in 20 years, I won't be contesting in a Lok Sabha election. And, for the first time in 44 years, my father or I will not be on the ballot box in South Mumbai."
He said "after four consecutive elections as a candidate", I am looking forward to campaigning" for Prime Minister Modi and Shinde as a "Rajya Sabha MP in Mumbai, Maharashtra & beyond".
"I want to assure the residents of South Mumbai that as a Rajya Sabha MP, I will continue to represent them to the best of my abilities, both locally & nationally. Your support means the world to me," he added.
Voting in the South Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency, which was represented by Milind Deora twice, in 2004 and 2009, will take place on May 20 in the fifth phase of the national polls.
The Shiv Sena (Shinde camp) has fielded party MLA Yamini Jadhav as its candidate from the constituency.
The wife of Yashwant Jadhav, a former corporator and standing committee chairman in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Yamini Jadhav has been pitted against Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, the sitting MP from South Mumbai who os seeking a third term.
Meanwhile, the BJP is also vying for the seat. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly speaker Rahul Narvekar and cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha have kicked off their campaigns.
However, Shinde was firm on his faction to contest the seat. Even Milind Deora was being considered as the party's candidiate.
Eventually, Yamini Jadhav, being a Marathi face, was declared as the party's candidate.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant won with 4,21,937 votes and Milind Deora, who was then a Congress leader, came in second with 3,21,870 votes.
In 2014 as well, Sawant won the South Mumbai seat with 3,74,609 votes, while Milind Deora occupied the second spot with 2,46,045 votes.
