National News
Raj Thackeray receives some support from the BJP, but Uddhav Thackeray benefits more
After her husband and Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke passed away earlier this year, the Andheri (East) constituency fell empty. Rutuja Latke, the candidate of Uddhav Thackeray's Sena faction, will now win without opposition.
Mumbai: The BJP unexpectedly withdrew its candidate from today’s crucial by-election, paving the way for challenger Uddhav Thackeray to win.
After her husband and Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke passed away earlier this year, the Andheri (East) constituency fell empty. Rutuja Latke, the candidate of Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena faction, will now win without opposition.
Murji Patel, a challenger from the BJP, withdrew today from the November 3 by-elections.
The BJP’s action came in response to two unexpected requests, one of which came from the Sena faction of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Pratap Sarnaik, an MLA for Eknath Shinde’s Sena, requested that the BJP not run a candidate against Rujuta Latke in memory of her late spouse. Mr. Sarnaik advised his party boss that all parties ought to support Ms. Latke and allow her to win the election.
Prior to him, his estranged relative Raj Thackeray supported Uddhav Thackeray’s candidate.
The head of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena wrote to Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis pleading with him to withdraw his party’s candidate so that Rutuja Latke may win without competition.
“Late Ramesh Latke’s wife Rutuja Latke is contesting the election after her husband’s death. I have been a witness to Ramesh Latke’s journey from a worker to MLA. His wife becoming an MLA after his death would be a tribute to the departed soul,” Raj Thackeray wrote in his letter addressed to “Dear friend Devendra”.
“I think by doing this we are paying tribute to the late representative of the people. To do so is also in line with the great culture of our Maharashtra. I hope you will accept my request,” he wrote.
Prior to the gesture, the Thackeray campaign claimed that Eknath Shinde’s group was attempting to harm their candidate by persuading the Mumbai civic council to postpone her resignation.
Only until a court ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), where Ms. Latke was employed as a clerk, to accept her resignation, was she able to submit her nomination for the bypolls.
