Mumbai: Hours before the deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the Andheri East Assembly by-polls ended, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced on Monday that the BJP shall pull out its candidate from the fray. Bawankule's announcement of withdrawal came after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray had on Sunday written to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asking the ruling party to pull out from the bypoll arena, considering the untimely demise of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May this year.
"The BJP has decided not to contest the Andheri East bypoll, Bawankule told reporters in Nagpur. We could have otherwise won the election," Bawankule said while speaking to a group of reporters on Monday. He further said that the stance taken by Raj Thackeray and Sharad Pawar is part of the culture. "We would have won this election 100 percent. But since the MLA passed away, not putting up a tough front in such a situation is the culture of Maharashtra," he said. BJP's Murji Patel, who withdrew his nomination papers on Monday, was pitted against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction's candidate Rutuja Latke, the wife of late Ramesh Latke.
Other than Raj Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had also appealed to all parties to ensure that Rutuja Latke was elected unopposed. Reacting to the announcement, Rutuja Latke expressed gratitude and said she was indebted to everyone who worked to make this election an uncontested battle. She further thanked Raj Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Sena faction's Pratap Sarnaik for stepping forward and appealing to the BJP to withdraw the nominations against her. Latke also informed the reporters that she shall be discussing the further course of action with her leader Uddhav Thackeray.
Also read: Raj Thackeray urges BJP not to contest Andheri East bypoll to show reverence to deceased MLA
Soon after the announcement, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday thanked Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the BJP's decision to withdraw its candidate from the bypoll to the Andheri East Assembly seat in Mumbai. In a letter written to Fadnavis, Thackeray referred to the senior BJP leader as his dear friend and said it is essential to have a positive political culture.
Meanwhile, the NCP state president Jayant Patil has alleged that the state government has been harassing Rutuja Latke. "The BMC administration first delayed accepting her resignation, then made her approach the Bombay High Court and also claimed that there were corruption charges against her. The BJP even tried freezing Sena's symbol and the name," he said. "BJP and Shinde faction may have realized that they would face a very humiliating defeat against Latke. We appreciate that better sense prevailed finally," he added.
Reacting to the announcement, State Congress president Nana Patole said, "Pawar and Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar are contesting BCCI elections jointly. Pawar's appeal to make Assembly bypoll unopposed could be linked to that election. I will also follow the party's decision and will not contest the bypoll as an independent. "
