India, May 1 -- Determined to expand his party in Vidarbha, a stronghold of the BJP, deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde has inducted peasant leader Bacchu Kadu into the Sena and fielded him for the legislative council elections. Kadu is likely to be elected unopposed as no other candidate has filed a nomination for the seat.

It's a full circle moment for Kadu, who started his career as a Shiv Sena taluka pramukh (tehsil chief) 1996-97. Later, he launched a social outfit, Prahar, and then the Prahar Janshakti Party, which won two assembly seats in 2019. Kadu was also a minister in the MVA government. When Shinde split the Sena and pulled down the MVA government in 2022, Kadu joined him but was not rewarded with a mini...