Mumbai, Thane candidates file nominations for LS polls

Mumbai: Congress candidate from the Mumbai North Central constituency Priya Dutt Monday filed her nomination. She was accompanied by her brother and film actor Sanjay Dutt. She has been pitted against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Poonam Mahajan. Several other candidates, including Urmila Matondkar and Rahul Shewale also filed their nominations for seats in Mumbai and Thane. Matondkar, who rode a motorcycle to file her papers, has been pitted against BJP’s Gopal Shetty in Mumbai north. The polls will be held on April 29. With this, the election campaign in the Mumbai region is expected to intensify in the coming days.

Former city Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam filed his papers from the Mumbai north-west seat, where he is locked in a battle with Shiv Sena's Gajanan Kirtikar.

Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora and Sawant are in the fray from the Mumbai south seat. Sawant was accompanied by BJP leader Raj Purohit while filing his nomination papers. Sena leader Rahul Shewale also filed his nomination from the Mumbai south-central seat, where he will face-off with Congress’ Eknath Gaikwad.

Shewale was flanked by Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray when he reached the election office to file his papers. The last date to withdraw nominations for the fourth phase is April 11. Polling is scheduled on April 29. Lok Sabha elections to 48 seats in the state will be held in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. In the first phase, polling will be held across seven seats where 116 candidates are in the fray.

In the second phase, 179 candidates will contest from 10 Lok Sabha seats. As many as 393 candidates are in the fray for the third phase of polling in 14 parliamentary constituencies of the state. In the fourth phase, polling will be held in 17 constituencies, inclu-ding those in Mumbai.