The tussle over the Nashik Lok Sabha seat, which has been a key issue in the Grand Alliance for the last month, has finally been resolved. The Shinde faction has fielded sitting MP Hemant Godse as Mahayuti's candidate. Godse will take on Thackeray group candidate Rajabhau Waze. Hemant Godse had contested from Nashik in the 2014 and 2019 elections while contesting on a Shiv Sena ticket. He had joined the Thackeray group after a split in the Shiv Sena in 2022. Godse will now try to make a hat-trick of victories here by winning for the third consecutive time after getting a chance to contest the Lok Sabha elections again.
Ever since the Lok Sabha elections began, there has been a tussle over some of the seats held by the Shiv Sena-Shinde faction in the Grand Alliance. It also included the Nashik Lok Sabha constituency. There was talk that the BJP would contest from this constituency. Meanwhile, Shrikant Shinde, who is on a visit to Nashik, had announced the candidature of Hemant Godse. This had caused resentment in the Grand Alliance. There was also uncertainty over the candidature of Hemant Godse.
After this, there was talk that the Grand Alliance would field Chhagan Bhujbal from Nashik. The Shinde faction, however, maintained its claim to the seat. In the end, Bhujbal announced that he was withdrawing from the race for the nomination. After this, The name of Hemant Godse was once again in the race. His name was officially announced by the Shinde group today.