Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde arrived in Guwahati on Tuesday evening, flying in from Mumbai on a special flight. He was accompanied by his family and a 13-member delegation.
Assam Minister Ashok Singhal welcomed the Shiv Sena leader upon his arrival.
Shinde is in Guwahati to visit the Kamakhya temple ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. After landing in Guwahati, he headed directly to Hotel Radisson Blu. During his visit, Shinde is also scheduled to meet with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Speaking to reporters, Shinde expressed strong confidence in the Mahayuti alliance's prospects in the upcoming state assembly elections, asserting that they would secure a decisive victory.
"This is the first list (of candidates for Maharashtra Assembly election), next 2nd list will come, we will then contest the elections, then Mahayuti will win with a big majority," he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Shiv Sena released its first list of 45 candidates for the polls, with Shinde set to contest from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi Assembly constituency. Other notable candidates include Manisha Ravindra Waykar from Jogeshwari (East), Suhas Dwarkanath Kande from Nandgao, Pradip Shivnarayan Jaiswal from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (middle), and Balaji Devidasrao Kalyankar from Nanded North. Sada Sarvankar will run from the Mahim seat against Raj Thackeray's son, Amit Thackeray.
Shinde has been projected as the chief ministerial candidate for the alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Meanwhile, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — consisting of the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress — is also ramping up its efforts ahead of the polls.
