Mumbai, March 28: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena are yet to reach a consensus over Kirit Somaiya's candidature from the Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency for the upcoming elections. Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Raut, brother of Sanjay Raut, on Thursday said he will contest against Kirit Somaiya from the Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency if he is fielded by the BJP.

"I will contest Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai North-East constituency even if Kirit Somaiya is given a ticket by the BJP. I'll go independent if needed but will contest against Somaiya. I'm 100 per cent sure," Sunil Raut told news agency ANI. As per the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties, the BJP will fight on the Mumbai North-East seat. However, the Shiv Sena has been opposing Somaiya's candidature.

Somaiya defeated the 2009 winner Sanjay Dina Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. While the NCP has fielded Patil again, the BJP is yet to nominate its candidate. The Maharashtra unit of the BJP has recommended only one name from the Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency — Kirit Somaiya. However, Shiv Sena's relentless opposition to Somaiya's candidature has put its ally in trouble. Maharashtra Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Dates: Constituency-Wise Complete Schedule Of Voting And Results For General Elections.

Somaiya had been criticising Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray openly on a range of issues. Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale recently said that the party had not forgotten what Somaiya remarked. "Somaiya had resorted to below the belt criticism of Shiv Sena leaders on many occasions. The party cadre has not forgotten it. That is the reason, Shiv Sainiks are strongly opposing his candidature from the constituency," Shewale said.

Polling for Lok Sabha election in Mumbai North-East parliamentary seat in Maharashtra will be held on April 29 in the fourth phase of general elections. The last day for filing nominations is April 9.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 28, 2019 01:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).