The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday claimed that BJP candidate Murji Patel withdrew after realizing his defeat in the Andheri East assembly bypoll. But even after this safe passage, the BJP has suffered humiliation, the Thackeray camp further claimed in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.
The front page of the Marathi daily had an article on the by-polls titled, “Kamalabai withdraws from Andheri. The Thackeray group has labeled the ruling BJP as Kamalabai, a reference to its election symbol Kamal or Lotus.
The Andheri East bypolls, to be held on November 3, have become necessary due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke earlier this year. The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction has fielded Ramesh Latte’s wife Rutuja Latte, while the BJP has fielded Patel. The BJP on Monday withdrew its candidate from the bypoll after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray contested unopposed.
Seven candidates are in the fray, but Rutuja Latke’s victory is already certain. Withdrawing the name of a (BJP) candidate is not as easy as it looks. In the event of a defeat, the Shinde-Fadnavis government would have realized that they would have to pay the price. An editorial in ‘Saamana’ said that the BJP may have also realized that the victory of Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) is imminent.
It also claimed that due to some discrepancies in Patel’s nomination papers, his nomination is likely to be rejected. “Their (BJP-Shinde group) car was at a dangerous juncture and it was destined to meet with an accident. To avoid this accident, he applied the brakes and took a U-turn.
It said that instead of facing burn injuries (referring to the flaming torch election symbol of the Thackeray faction) and imminent defeat, the BJP chose an easier way (withdrawing the candidate). But the BJP has faced humiliation even after this safe passage, the Marathi publication said.
It also lashed out at the state government for creating hurdles in accepting the resignation of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation employee Rutuja Latte and had left the civic body to contest the bypolls. Last week, Rutuja Latke approached the Bombay High Court, which asked the civic body to accept his resignation.
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