Mumbai: Ahead of the high-stakes Andheri East bypoll next month, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray has urged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to drop its candidate and support the one being fielded by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena.
In a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Sunday, Raj Thackeray wrote, “Whenever there has been a situation wherein a sitting MLA has passed away and a family member has filed for their candidature, our party has refrained from fighting the bypoll. This is our way of paying our reverence to the departed soul.”
“I appeal to you with these sentiments in mind. Sentiments such as these are a part of our Maharashtra’s culture. I hope you will consider my appeal,” added Raj Thackeray, who has become close to the BJP leadership over the past few months.
Fadnavis told reporters the BJP will “seriously consider” the request, but a final decision will only be taken after internal discussions.
The MNS and BJP have also had informal talks of possibly tying up for the Mumbai civic polls expected to be held either later this year or early next year.
The Andheri bypoll, scheduled for 3 November, has been necessitated due to the death of sitting Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May.
Uddhav’s faction, now called Shiv Sena — Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT), has fielded the late MLA’s wife Rutuja Latke, who will take on the BJP’s Murji Patel.
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‘Solace to departed soul’
The Andheri East bypoll is significant as it is the first major election after the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, comprising the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress. It is also the first election for an assembly seat since a vertical split in the Shiv Sena.
In June, party MLA Eknath Shinde led a rebellion of a majority of Sena legislators to topple the MVA and form a government in the state with the BJP. Shinde is now Chief Minister.
Hence, the 3 November bypoll has transformed into a political slugfest between the Shiv Sena UBT supported by its former MVA allies, and the BJP supported by the Shinde-faction of the Shiv Sena, now known as Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena.
In his letter, without naming Shiv Sena UBT, Raj Thackeray said, Rutuja Latke has filed her candidature for the bypoll and seeing his wife become an MLA will be a “solace to his [Ramesh Latke’s] departed soul.”
He added that Ramesh Latke was an efficient worker who began his political journey right from the lowest rung, the Shiv Sena’s shakha pramukh.
“I have witnessed his journey and growth in the political arena…I sincerely request you to not enter this bypoll election and put a candidate against Rutuja Latke,” he stated in the letter.
Also Read: Smarting over Shinde rebellion, Uddhav makes peace with Sena’s first rebel, Chhagan Bhujbal
‘Cannot make a decision alone’
Speaking to reporters Sunday, Fadnavis said BJP Mumbai President Ashish Shelar met Raj Thackeray Sunday morning to seek his party’s support for the Andheri East bypoll.
“At that time, he [Raj Thackeray] shared his sentiments and has written a letter to me requesting not to field our candidate there [for the bypoll] or take our candidate back,” Fadnavis said.
“Ultimately, in the party I cannot make a decision alone. Even if we have to think about the letter, I will have to discuss this with my colleagues and party leaders because we have already declared our candidate and he has filed his nomination,” he said, adding that the party will also have to hold discussions with CM Shinde since the BJP is in an alliance with his faction of the Shiv Sena.
The Deputy CM, however, noted that the party has considered requests like these in the past, such as when the NCP fielded Suman Patil, former minister R.R. Patil’s wife, in the Tasgaon (Kavathe-Mahankal) bypoll in 2015, following his death. At the time, the BJP had decided not to field a candidate against her.
“We will seriously think about the request, but the final decision will only be taken after discussion,” Fadnavis said.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
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