Mumbai: Setting the stage for a face-off between the two Senas and their allies, Rutuja Latke of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and Murji Patel of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed their nominations on Friday for the Andheri East by-elections.
This will be the first direct electoral contest between the BJP and the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena since the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government collapsed following a vertical split in Sena.
Last minute deliberations on Thursday saw the BJP and the Shinde faction deciding on fielding a BJP candidate instead of one from Shinde led ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena. Patel’s nomination was officially declared minutes before the deadline for filing the nomination was to end.
Latke, widow of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, whose death in May this year necessitated the elections, filed her papers after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) accepted her resignation on Friday following a High Court order. This filing of nominations was done after a massive show of strength, which saw Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, Mumbai Congress chief Bhai Jagtap and former home minister and NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil among those in attendance. .
“This is the first election that the MVA parties are contesting together. Hence, it’s outcome will be decisive…. The Shiv Sena has less to lose here compared to the BJP. If we lose the seat, our numbers in the assembly will remain stagnant at 15, but if the BJP is defeated, it will impact their morale for the BMC polls,” said senior Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab.
School education minister and Shinde faction leader Deepak Kesarkar said, “We are fighting as an alliance to ensure the victory of our candidate. Though we were interested in fielding a candidate, the decision of Patel’s candidature was taken amicably by our leadership from both the sides,” said.
“The opponents had to bring people from other parts of the city for filing the nomination of their candidate. This is an indication that the people are with us. Our candidate will win by 25,000 votes,” claimed Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar.
Apart from Latke and Patel, three other candidates, Rakesh Arora (Krantikari Jai Hind Sena and Hindustan Janata Party), Milind Kamble and Neeta Khedekar (Independents) have filed nominations for the election.
In the three by-elections that have taken place since 2019, the BJP has won one (Pandharpur- Mangalwedha), while the MVA has won two (Kolhapur North and Deglur).