Thane Lok Sabha constituency is a major Lok Sabha constituency of Maharashtra. Where Shiv Sena is the strongest party. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Naresh Ganpat Mhaske of Eknath Shinde’s faction Shiv Sena won by defeating Uddhav Thackeray’s faction Shiv Sena. This area is located on the northern edge of Mumbai, which is situated at the mouth of the Ulhas river. In the past, this Lok Sabha constituency has also been under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese, Marathas and the British. Thane, situated at a height of just 7 meters above sea level, is surrounded by hills on all sides. This place is also known throughout the country by the name Shri Santhanak. At present, Thane Lok Sabha constituency has become a huge center of chemicals, engineering products and textile industry. There are also many historical buildings in this area, which include a fort and many churches.
Thane Lok Sabha constituency is made up of Mira-Bhayander, Ovala Majiwada, Kopri Pachpakhadi, Thane, Airoli and Belapur assembly constituencies. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, Shiv Sena registered a big win on this seat and maintained a lead in all six assembly constituencies. According to the current assembly wise situation, the ‘Mahayuti alliance’ has an upper hand here, while Maha Vikas Aghadi does not have a single MLA in this region. BJP has three out of six seats. On the other hand, Eknath Shinde’s faction of Shiv Sena occupies two seats and an independent candidate occupies one seat.
Mira-Bhayander assembly seat, which came into existence after the 2009 elections after the delimitation in the state in 2008, falls under Thane district. This seat has been with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the last two elections. It had captured this seat by defeating the NCP. Currently, Geeta Bharat Jain is the MLA from here. Before him, Narendra Mehta of his party has also represented this area. Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) has complete control over the Ovala Majiwada assembly constituency, which comes under this Lok Sabha constituency. Party leader Pratap Sarnaik has been elected MLA from this seat for three consecutive times. In this area, which has been declared as an assembly constituency since 2009, no party other than Shiv Sena has been able to open its account.
The current Chief Minister of the state Eknath Shinde is the MLA from Kopri Pachpakhadi seat of this Lok Sabha constituency. This constituency also falls completely under Thane district. Recognized as an assembly constituency since 2009, Eknath Shinde has always been elected MLA on this seat. Eknath Shinde, who split the Shiv Sena in 2022, is the 20th Chief Minister of the state. Congress was initially the strongest party in the Thane assembly seat, which came into existence in 1962 with the formation of the state, but this seat, which slipped out of the hands of Congress since 1990, never came back to its possession. Since then, till 2014, Shiv Sena has ruled here single-handedly. Under which, initially party leader Moreshwar Joshi was elected MLA three times, and then the current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was also elected MLA once. At present, this seat is occupied by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the last 10 years, whose leader Sanjay Kelkar is the current MLA from here.
Airoli Assembly constituency, famous as seat number 150 in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, comes completely under Thane district. Before 2009, it was not a constituency, but in the first election held in 2009 in this area, Sandeep Naik of Nationalist Congress Party won. After this, he was elected MLA from Airoli area twice in a row. In the last assembly elections held in 2019, this seat was snatched from him by Ganesh Ramchandra Naik of Bharatiya Janata Party. MLA Ganesh Naik has also handled many ministries as a cabinet minister in previous governments. Another seat of Thane Lok Sabha constituency is Belapur, the voters of this area have also given a chance to all the parties to represent them. Currently, Manda Vijay Mhatre of Bharatiya Janata Party has been representing this area in the state assembly for the last 10 years. He snatched this seat from the current BJP MLA and former NCP leader Ganesh Naik. Who was elected MLA from this area twice in a row.
Historically, the Thane Lok Sabha constituency has been dominated by various political parties. Initially, it was dominated by socialist ideologies, but later it became a stronghold of the Congress party. Subsequently, the BJP and Shiv Sena also made their mark in this constituency. In 2009, the NCP captured the seat, but in 2014, Shiv Sena won it again. The Thane Lok Sabha constituency has a population of around 25 lakhs, of which 55% are men and 45% are women. The literacy rate of the region is around 90%. The constituency has a high middle-class population. The region is a hub of industrial and commercial activities, including sectors such as textiles, chemicals, and engineering. Social issues here include unemployment, traffic problems, and water pollution. Social organizations and political parties in the region are working on these issues.
