The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday decided to withdraw its candidate from the November 3 assembly by-election in Mumbai’s Andheri East, a day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar sought unopposed election of Rutuja Latke from the seat to show reverence to her husband and the deceased MLA, Ramesh Latke.
The bypoll, necessitated due to the demise of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May this year, is the first election after the vertical split in the Shiv Sena in June-July this year.
The potential sympathy wave in favour of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) candidate Rutuja Latke compelled the party to withdraw the nomination of its candidate, according people familiar with the development. Besides, the trend on the social media over the BJP preferring a Gujarati candidate fuelling Shiv Sena’s Marathi pride card made the party to reach to the conclusion of withdrawal of the candidature, the leaders said.
“Rutuja was enjoying a great deal of sympathy among the local voters. Apart from the one owing to the demise of her husband, the Sena candidate further gained sympathy due to the drama over BMC’s refusal to accept her resignation. Besides, we could not ignore the fact that there has been polarisation in favour of Thackeray among some sections as ECI’s (Election Commission of India) decision on party name and symbol is being projected as the end of Shiv Sena,”said a senior BJP leader.
The BJP’s state and city leadership were divided over the decision as a group of leaders was of the opinion that the party could have strengthened the ground for forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election, even after the defeat. “Even withdrawal from the fray at the last minute has sent a wrong message. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar and most of the party leaders who are not part of the government were of the opinion that the party should face the polls. After the split in Sena, the entire political limelight has been hogged by the two factions of the Sena. The BJP seems to be playing second fiddle on the political arena in Mumbai. Had we fought the poll, it would have helped us strengthening at least four of a total 9 wards in the constituency,” said a leader from the party’s city unit.
The leader said that the state leadership was wary about the impact of the bypoll result on the forthcoming municipal corporation and district council polls. He said that the leaders were wary that it could have set a tone for the local body polls.
The decision to withdraw Patel’s candidature was taken after key leaders from state and Mumbai had a meeting in Mumbai in the presence of party’s national general secretary CT Ravi. State unit chief of the party Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced the withdrawal at a press conference in Nagpur.
“The state and central leadership of the party has decided to withdraw the nomination. It is in accordance with the political tradition in the state of not fielding a candidate against kin of a deceased sitting MLA or MP. We are not withdrawing because of the fear of the defeat. We would have won the seat with a sizable margin, but wanted to avoid any bitter tussle just for one-and-a-half year term remaining,” he said.
Though the BJP has claimed it to be ‘goodwill gesture’ ,the three bypolls fought after the demise of sitting MLAs after 2019 polls saw tough fight between Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi and the BJP. Kolhapur North, Pandharpur and Deglur (Nanded) by polls were fought despite the kin of the deceased sitting MLAs being in the fray.
The decision came in the backdrop of the letter written by MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis urging him to allow Rutuja to win unopposed by withdrawing the nomination. NCP chief Pawar too said in a press conference on Sunday that the BJP should respect the tradition in Maharashtra. Hours after it, Shinde camp MLA Pratap Sarnaik wrote a letter to Shinde on the similar lines making it clear that the BJP was keen on the withdrawal.
Anil Parab, senior Shiv Sena leader and former minister, thanked the BJP for “upholding the traditions of Maharashtra.” He added that in the past, if an incumbent elected representative passed away and a family member was nominated to contest the seat, no contestant was put up against him or her.
Parab also called on smaller parties and independents in the fray to withdraw their nominations to ensure that Rutuja Latke was elected unopposed in the by-poll. “Considering the way Shiv Sainiks are charged up, they will contest this by-election or the BMC polls with full force and vigour. I have been saying since day one that the Shiv Sena will win the Andheri by-elections,” said Parab.