Mumbai: The nomination of Ajay Choudhari from the Sewri constituency by the Shiv Sena (UBT) created quite a stir, with a hopeful Sudhir Salvi, the secretary of the popular Lalbaugcha Ganesh Mandal, calling for a gathering of his supporters. However, by Friday evening, he had already held discussions at Matoshree and later clarified that he stands by Uddhav Thackeray.

He had earlier met Thackeray twice to request a ticket for the Sewri seat. Salvi has a strong local support base, mainly because of his role with the Ganpati mandal and his extensive social work in the area.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), though, went with Choudhari, the current MLA from the constituency. This decision upset Salvi’s supporters, with many threatening to withdraw their support for the party if Salvi was not reconsidered. On Thursday, Salvi’s supporters held a protest outside the popular Ganesh Mandal.