The Mumbai film and television industry has come together for the first time to throw their full support behind filmmaker Ashoke Pandit as their candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Pandit, who is the current president of the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), will contest from the Mumbai North West constituency.
A video shared by the film and TV fraternity endorsed Pandit’s name for the Mumbai North West constituency. It also showed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the clip. The Mumbai North West constituency has six Assembly segments, which include Andheri East, Versova, Andheri West, Jogeshwari East, Dindoshi, and Goregaon. Of the six constituencies, three are with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two with the Shiv Sena, and one with the United Bharatiya Thackeray (UBT). Ravindra Waikar of UBT had switched sides and joined the Shiv Sena.
Eight Lok Sabha constituencies of Maharashtra will go to polls in the second phase on April 26. In the first phase on April 19, polling was held in Ramtek, Nagpur, Bhandara-Gondiya, Gadchiroli-Chimur, and Chandrapur. In the second phase, voting will be held in Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal-Washim, Hingoli, Nanded, and Parbhani. The NDA-BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena won 7 of these 8 seats in 2019. The BJP bagged Akola, Wardha, and Nanded, while the Sena won Buldhana, Yavatmal-Washim, Hingoli, and Parbhani.
