Ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Elections, Shiv Sena released a list of 65 candidates, including Kedar Dighe, the nephew of late party leader Anand Dighe, who will challenge current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for the Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat. The party also signaled Shinde as their top choice for the chief ministerial position in the meeting prior to the candidate announcement. The list includes many incumbent MLAs who have stayed loyal to party leader Uddhav Thackeray after the split in 2022.