Uddhav aide Milind Narvekar finally nominated for MLC polls

MUMBAI: Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide Milind Narvekar, who has been seeking a party nomination to the upper house of the state legislature for a long time, has finally been fielded by the Shiv Sena (UBT). The selection of Narvekar, who is also the party secretary, is a comeback for the man who was sidelined in the party following Eknath Shinde’s rebellion two years ago. Narvekar was known for his good rapport with Shinde.

Narvekar has worked as Uddhav Thackeray’s personal assistant for over two decades. He also played a role in various political developments, and over the years had been aspiring to be a member of the legislature. He was given the opportunity on Tuesday by Thackeray, who remained present when Narvekar filed his nomination.

The election to 11 council seats will be tough, as the opposition MVA has fielded three candidates though it does not have adequate numbers. However, Thackeray expressed confidence. “We have enough votes to elect three candidates from the MVA,” he said. “The Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Peasants and Workers Party’s (PWP) Jayant Patil are also in the fray. We will win all three seats.” The Sena (UBT) claims it has 16 votes with it against the quota of 23 to win the election. Thackeray, after deliberations with the Congress about the shifting of extra votes to him, fielded Narvekar.

Narvekar met Thackeray in the mid-1990s when he approached him seeking an appointment for the Malad shakha pramukh’s post. Thackeray asked him to work as his personal assistant, and since then Narvekar has been handling the responsibility. He also worked behind the scenes in identifying candidates for various elections and established communication between them and his boss. His networking skills came in handy for Uddhav. Leaders like Narayan Rane, however, blamed Narvekar for controlling their access to Thackeray.

Narvekar was made party secretary in 2018. However, he was sidelined after 2019 when Thackeray broke the alliance with the BJP and joined the Congress-NCP alliance to become chief minister. Following Eknath Shinde’s splitting the Sena in 2022, there were further problems for Narvekar as he was known to have cordial relations with Shinde. Before the Lok Sabha elections, there were even speculations that Narveker could join the Shinde-led Sena, and his name cropped up as a likely candidate for the Mumbai South constituency. However, he stayed with Thackeray. His patience paid off on Tuesday.