Mumbai: Ahead of the high-stakes Andheri East by-poll next month, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena still doesn’t have a candidate officially. And the last date of nomination is Friday.
This frustrating scenario, unfortunately, is not by choice. Uddhav’s nominee Rutuja Latke is an employee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The civic body is apparently dilly dallying on accepting Rutuja’s resignation.
The BMC is currently under a state-appointed administrator, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, after the term of the outgoing general body lapsed in March this year. Before that, the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had ruled the municipality for 25 years.
The by-poll on 3 November is a litmus test for the Thackeray-led party after the vertical split in it led by Shinde in June.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT), as the party is now known following an interim order by the Election Commission earlier this week, has slammed the BMC’s action as “pressure tactics” by Shinde’s government.
UBT has condemned the government for starving it of a candidate, or worse, trying to lure Rutuja into their fold.
Rutuja is the wife of Ramesh Latke, the former Shiv Sena MLA from Andheri East. He died in May this year before the party split.
Addressing the media Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab said, “Rutuja Ramesh Latke should not be scared in any way. I have heard that the Shinde group is pressuring her to contest as their candidate, but I am confident that Ramesh Latke’s family is loyal to the Shiv Sena. They will not fall prey to pressure.”
“There are only two days left to file the nomination for the by-poll, but her resignation is deliberately not being accepted to either bar her from the race or pressure her to contest as a rival candidate. We condemn this,” he added.
Rutuja Latke, meanwhile, clarified that she will stay loyal to the Shiv Sena (UBT). Sharing a photograph of her and her late husband with Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray on Facebook, Latke said, “Amhi sadaiva Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray hyancha soba ahot.” (We are always with Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray.)
Naresh Mhaske, a leader from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, now known as “Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena”, said the party has nothing to do with Latke’s application. “It is not right to blame us every time for everything. They should have understood the procedure and followed rules,” he said.
“All terms and conditions met, resignation should be accepted”
Parab said Rutuja had first submitted her resignation last month, but it was not taken on record. She was later told that her papers were not according to format.
Rutuja put in a fresh resignation on 3 October. As per BMC rules, an outgoing employee has to serve a one-month notice period. “Since she wouldn’t have been able to serve the one-month notice period, she chose the alternative of depositing one month’s salary with the BMC as per rules,” Parab said.
Parab said he met BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal thrice and asked him to accept the resignation, but did not get a satisfactory response. “I even asked him to give me in writing the reasons for not accepting the resignation so that we could take the next step, but he was not ready to do that either. He is clearly being pressured,” Parab added.
When contacted, Chahal told ThePrint: “It is a work in progress. Rules permit to decide in 30 days. She applied on the evening of 3 October, 2022. There is no question of any government pressure.”
The crucial by-poll
The Andheri East by-poll is pivotal as it is the first test for all parties after a change of guard in the state and the rebellion within the Shiv Sena.
In June, Shinde, a Shiv Sena MLA and minister, engineered a coup in the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which then fell flat on its face. The MVA comprised the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.
The Shinde group then allied with the BJP to form a government in Maharashtra with him as chief minister and BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.
The Shinde faction approached the EC claiming to be the real Shiv Sena and asked for the original “bow and arrow” symbol. In an interim order in the dispute between the two Senas, the EC gave them both new names as well as symbols – the “mashaal” (torch flame) for the Shiv Sena (UBT) and “swords and shield” for Shinde’s Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena.
The Congress and NCP have already pledged their support to Shiv Sena (UBT) in the by-poll. On Wednesday, Deputy CM Fadnavis said the BJP and the Shinde group would also contest the by-poll as an alliance and will decide on the candidate soon.
Also read: Shinde, Uddhav factions have new names. But what’s the origin story of ‘Shiv Sena’ & its symbol?