In Thane’s Kopari-Pachpakhadi assembly constituency, three-time winner Eknath Shinde will face off against his mentor Anand Dighe’s nephew, Kedar Dighe. Shinde has been an MLA from the Kopari-Pachpakhadi constituency three times since 2009. He served as Thane’s guardian minister and was a local civic body corporator, starting as a rookie Sena worker in the 80s under Dighe’s guidance. Kedar, a former software analyst, left his SAP job to join Sena full-time in 2010. He led the party’s youth wing in Thane and is now its district in-charge. His nomination has energised the small group of Dighe loyalists in Thane who have remained with Thackeray’s Sena.