Mihir Kotecha Seeks Another Term From Mulund (image:x.com/mihirkotecha/)

Mihir Chandrakant Kotecha is seeking his second term from Mulund constituency, a BJP bastion.

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, Kotecha fielded from Mumbai North East constituency and lost. He replaced sitting BJP MP Manoj Kotak and fielded against Maha Vikas Aghadi’s Sanjay Dina Patil of Shiv Sena (UBT). Patil won the seat by defeating Kotecha with a margin of 29,861 votes.

Also Read | Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil: Shaping Maharashtra’s Political Landscape For Decades

Kotecha is a businessman by profession. He began his political journey with the BJP, 34 years ago. Began as the youth president of the BJP’s Mumbai unit, he rose through ranks and currently helms as the treasurer of the party’s Maharashtra state unit. Earlier, he served as the BJP Vice President of Mumbai.

In the 2014 Assembly elections, Kotecha unsuccessfully contested from Wadala constituency. He fielded against Congress candidate Kalidas Nilkanth Kolambkar and lost the seat by a margin of 800 votes.

In 2019, Kotecha contested from Mulund assembly segment and secured 87,253 votes. The BJP has fielded Kotecha after dropping its four-time MLA Sardar Tara Singh. Mulund, with a considerable Gujarati-speaking population has been electing Singh since 1999.

In the polls, Kotecha defeated Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate Harshala Rajesh Chavan by a whopping margin of 57,348 votes.

Also Read | BJP Pins Hope On Shweta Mahale To Retain Chikhli Constituency

The 288 Assembly seats in Maharashtra will go to polls on November 20. The ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state consists of the BJP, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and the opposition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).

As election dates are coming closer, the Mahayuti alliance and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are engaged in intense poll preparations. The Maharashtra Assembly elections mark the first after the Shiv Sena and NCP parties split in June 2022 and July 2023, respectively.