The Thane Lok Sabha constituency is one of the fastest urbanising belts taking in the spilloffs of Mumbai’s growth. The constituency includes the Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayender, Thane city, Owala-Majiwada and Kopri-Pachpakhadi.
The meteoric rise of the legislator from the Kopri Pach-Pakhadi constituency, Eknath Shinde as the chief minister has suddenly brought sharp focus on this area. Shinde has been taking a personal interest in Thane and has been fast-tracking developmental projects in this locality.
Thane has undergone a major metamorphosis from being a green jungle to a concrete residential jungle with promenades coming up alongside rivers. Public transportation is a huge concern as it has failed to keep up with the rapid rise in population.
Constituency Map
At a glance- Thane Constituency
| Constituency Name | Thane |
| Number of voters (2024) | 25,07,372 |
| Male voters | 13,48,163 |
| Female voters | 11,59,002 |
| Other voters | 207 |
Find your polling booth:
Use your EPIC number in the voter id cards to find the booth information here.
Candidates contesting in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, The incumbent MP from this constituency is Rajan Vichare of the Shiv Sena (UBT). You can read about his tenure here.
| Candidates for 2024 |
| Rajan Vichare, 62 Shiv Sena (UBT) Education: Class XI Pending criminal cases: 6 Total assets: Rs 29,72,79,258 Liabilities: Rs 4,18, 99,116 Click here for affidavit |
| Naresh Mhaske, 54 Shivsena (Eknath Shinde) Education: Class XII Pending criminal cases: 2 Total assets: Rs 26,26,02,215 Liabilities: Rs 4,60,63,890 Click here for affidavit |
| Mallikarjun Pujari, 53 Independent Education: Class VIII Pending criminal cases: 2 Total assets: Rs 60,01,100 Liabilities: Rs 47,50,000 Click here for affidavit |
| Vijay Ghate, 55 Republican Bahujan Sena Education: Class V Pending criminal cases: 5 Total assets: Rs 2,42,75,000 Liabilities: Rs 13,19,993 Click here for affidavit |
| Salima Muktar Vasani, 48 Bahujan Maha Party Education: Class X Pending criminal cases: Nil Total assets: Rs 61,41,000 Liabilities: Nil Click here for affidavit |
| Rajendra Sankhe, 59 Bharatiya Jawan Kisan Party Education: Post-Graduation Pending criminal cases: Nil Total assets: Rs 3,17,69,606 Liabilities: Rs 63,09,823 Click here for affidavit |
| Rahul Meharoliya, 39 Bahujan Republican Socialist Party Education: Class V Pending criminal cases: Nil Total assets: Rs1,70,000 Liabilities: Nil Click here for affidavit |
| Adv Gurudev Narsingh Suryawanshi, 37 Independent Education: Graduate Professional Pending criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs. 2,20,000 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Archana Dinkar Gaikwad, 32 Independent Education: 10th Pass Criminal Cases: 0 Total Assets: Rs. Rs 2,32,000 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Bhanwarlal Khetmal Mehta, 66 Hindu Samaj Party Education: 10th Pass Criminal cases: 0 Total Assets: Rs. Rs 2,85,45,600 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Chandrakant Vitthal Sonawane, 39 Independent Education: Graduate, Professional Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs. 53,611 Liabilities: Rs 93,880 Click here for affidavit |
| Dr. Piyush K. Saxena, 64 Independent Education: Doctorate Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs. 12,28,68,000 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Irfan Ibrahim Shaikh, 45 Independent Education: 10th Pass Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 17,93,000 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Jha Subhash Chandra, 54 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Party Education: Graduate Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 1,51,20,000 Liabilities: Rs 11,00,000 Click here for affidavit |
| Khajasab Rasulsab Mulla, 47 Independent Education: Graduate Criminal Cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 25,000 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Mukesh Kailasnath Tiwari, 40 Bhim Sena Education: 8th Pass Criminal Cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 40,000 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Pramod Anandrao Dhumal, 49 Independent Education: 10th Pass Criminal Cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 70,000 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Rajiv Kondiba Bhosale, 38 Independent Education: 10th Pass Criminal Cases: 0 Total Assets: Rs 57,02,444 Liabilities: Rs 5,84,000 Click here for affidavit |
| Sanjay Manohar More, 42 Independent Education: Govt. Diploma in Art Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 28,051 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Santosh Bhikaji Bhalerao, 46 Bahujan Samaj Party Education: Post Graduate Criminal cases: 0 Total Assets: Rs 2,15,35,752 Liabilities: Rs 17,96,622 Click here for affidavit |
| Sawale Dattatray Sitaram, 41 Independent Education: 8th Pass Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 20,000 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Siddhant Chhaban Shirsat, 31 Independent Education: 12th Pass Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 4,51,091 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Surendrakumar K. Jain, 56 Independent Education: 10th Pass Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 1,30,95,527 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Uttam Kisanrao Tirpude, 56 Independent Education: 10th Pass Criminal cases: Nil Total Assets: Rs 1,30,95,527 Liabilities: 0 Click here for affidavit |
| Vijay Dnyanoba Ghate, 55 Republican Bahujan Sena Education: 8th Pass Criminal Cases: 5 Total Assets: Rs. 2,42,75,000 Liabilities: Rs. 13,19,993 Click here for affidavit |
Additional information
Out of 43 candidate applications, 31 have been accepted, and 11 rejected. Out of these, 24 are contesting, and 1 person has withdrawn their candidacy. (source: Election Commission of India)
Rajan Vichare
Rajan Vichare is a seasoned politician associated with the Shiv Sena since 1985. He was said to be close to Shiv Sea leader Anand Dighe. He has been elected as the MP from Thane twice.
- Profession: salaried employee and business
- Political experience: Rajan Vichare became the Mayor of the Thane Municipal Corporation in 2006. In 2009 he won a seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He won his first term as an MP from Thane in 2014 and then in 2019. This is his third bid at this parliamentary seat.
- Cases: 6 cases are pending against him as per the affidavit he has submitted to the ECI.
- Online: X – @rajanvichare Instagram – mp_rajanvichare
Naresh Mhaske
Naresh Mhaske chose to go with CM Eknath Shinde when the Shiv Sena split. Like his opponent he too was associated with senior Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe. The announcement of his candidacy from the Mahayuti elicited the wrath of some BJP workers who expected the ticket to be given to a BJP politician.
- Profession: construction business
- Political experience: An experienced politician, Naresh Mhaske has held two terms as a corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation, in 2012 and 2017. He was elected as the Mayor of the Thane Municipal Corporation in 2019.
- Cases: 2 cases are pending against him as per the affidavit he has submitted to the ECI.
- Online: X – @nareshmhaske Instagram – nareshmhaskeofficial
| MumbaiVotes, a non-profit working for voter awareness and providing data and analysis about Lok Sabha elections 2024, has studied all the candidates for every constituency in Mumbai along with Thane, Kalyan and Palghar. Following is the list of candidates and their affidavits as published by MumbaiVotes. |
| ** Thane Constituency – https://mumbaivotes.com/constituency/270/ ** You can also find more information about all Mumbai Candidates here. ** To compare political parties click here. You can also find manifesto analysis of the BJP, Shiv Sena and Congress. |
Past election results
| 2019 | Candidate | Sex | Party | Vote Share (%) |
| 1 | Rajan Vichare | M | Shiv Sena (UBT) | 63.3% |
| 2 | Anand Paranjpe | M | Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) | 28.09% |
| 3 | Mallikarjun Pujari | M | Vachit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) | 4.1% |
| 2014 | Candidate | Sex | Party | Vote Share (%) |
| 1 | Rajan Vichare | M | Shiv Sena | 56.5% |
| 2 | Sanjeev Naik | M | Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) | 29.09% |
| 3 | Abhijeet Panse | M | Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) | 4.05% |
Key issues in Thane constituency
Rapid urbanisation has been a boon and a bane for the Thane constituency, which is adjacent to Mumbai. Thane, which has emerged as a satellite township for Mumbai, has its economic, social and cultural life intertwined with that of Mumbai. It has borne the brunt of urbanisation of Mumbai resulting in congested roads, water scarcity and lop-sided development.
It has emerged as the preferred residential zone for middle class professional Mumbaikars looking for affordable housing options thus forcing them into long-distance travelling for jobs on the Mumbai local trains.
Road networks are good but heavily congested, distant and time-consuming thus forcing the transportation load heavily on the railway services. Even minor delays or technical snags in train services impact the working-class population to a large extent triggering protests and dharnas and even rail-rokos.
Massive daily standstill traffic congestion on the arterial Ghodbunder Road, which connects Thane city with the neighbouring developing townships of Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar. Public bus services are dismal and unreliable and auto rickshaws have proved inadequate to meet the last-minute connectivity needs of the huge population that has moved in here. The population here has drastically ballooned. According to the 2011 census, it has the third largest population in the state. currently, the population of Thane city is estimated to be 2,613,000 and that of Thane metro at 26,129,000. Whereas it was 1,841,488 and 18,394,912 respectively in 2011 as per the provisional census report. (Source: census2011.co.in)
The metro network promises much hope but is not yet ready. Its construction work however has compounded traffic congestion to unbearable levels. Unfettered, unplanned development has led to a huge population with the authorities now struggling to put up support infrastructure in place.
The city of lakes has its lakes being encroached upon, going dry or having sewage dumped in it. Surrounded by the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and the Thane Creek, the environment today faces the onslaught of concrete projects coming up to meet the needs of citizens.
Read more: Traffic woes around Thane station road a never-ending problem
People speak
Rohit Joshi, 46, convenor of the Yeoor Environmental Society, whose family has been based in Thane for over five generations, observes that Thane has turned from a real jungle into a concrete jungle to feed into the unbridled greed of the builders’ lobby, already leading to a water crisis scenario here. He recalls how the Bombay High Court had banned construction on the Ghodbunder Road demanding to know how Thane city would meet its water needs.
“Thane has no water source of its own. It is entirely dependent on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) pipelines that provide Thane with a part of the water that it takes from Thane’s dams – Tansa and Vaitarna, for Mumbai. With no water to meet their needs, citizens from huge residential complexes are entirely dependent on tanker water today,” says Joshi.
This is despite Thane being a lake city, having 65 lakes, most of which have been reduced to ponds or have sewage dumped into them or have slum encroachments on them.
“Despite being blessed with Yeoor forest ranges and Thane creeks, its environment is being destroyed rapidly with over 10,000 trees being cut for the three metro networks and its casting yard is coming up over wetlands. Unfortunately, there is no due diligence followed nor experts’ or citizens’ viewpoints considered for projects. Though the disastrous repercussions of short-sighted projects are already staring right in our faces, our leadership is all set to dump many more such projects on us with no concern for life or environment,” says Joshi.
Journalist Dilip Sapate, who has been based in Thane for over four decades, rues that lack of city planning had led to lopsided development pushing people into difficult living conditions. People have to endure massive congestion on Ghodbunder Road, the arterial road that connects Thane to neighbouring townships of Vasai-Virar and Mira-Bhayander, which has attracted huge residential complexes.
“The train services are overburdened, public bus services are irregular and unreliable and rickshaws are inadequate to meet the transportation needs of the huge population that has already moved in here,” says Sapate.
While the population has increased, there is no corresponding rise in social infrastructure set-ups like hospitals, playgrounds, gardens or even higher educational institutions. He observes that major industries like Voltas, Cadbury’s, Bayer, Raymond, Nicholas Piramal have shut leading to job losses and are being replaced by residential complexes.
Thane constituency candidates in the news
Rajan Vichare
Rajan Vichare has been known to make bold statements mainly against those, who have left his party to join Eknath Shinde, calling them traitors. He has said that if elected he will work on remodelling and building a new Thane station, as well as improve connectivity via waterways in his constituency.
Naresh Mhaske
After Eknath Shinde announced Naresh Mhaske’s nomination from the Thane Lok Sabha constituency as the Mahayuti candidate, BJP workers and office-bearers from Navi Mumbai and Mira-Bhayandar conducted a mass resignation to protest the move. Many others announced their decision to not campaign for Mhaske. Protesting BJP workers claimed that the decision had been a complete shock as they were expecting the ticket to go to a BJP candidate.
Star campaigners have been canvassing support for Naresh Mhaske, including the actor Govinda and the wife of the Chief Minister, Lata Shinde. He has said that if elected he will build a new railway station on the land on which the Thane Mental Hospital currently stands. He has also promised to construct a hospital along the lines of AIIMS in Navi Mumbai.
The details of the candidates official websites must be provided so that their work for the constituency can be judged .
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