Andheri (East) bypoll should be unopposed: Sharad Pawar

MUMBAI: Within hours of MNS chief Raj Thackeray writing to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asking him to withdraw the BJP’s candidate from the Andheri (East) by-election, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar too urged that the by-poll should be held unopposed.
According to Pawar, this will send a positive message throughout the country.
“Every party has the right to take a stand. He (Raj Thackeray) has written a letter accordingly. So there is no reason to object about the stand he took. After the death of Ramesh Latke, Rutuja Latke is contesting elections. Murji Patel has also filed the nomination. I strongly feel that this election should be unopposed, it will send a good message across the country,” Pawar said on Sunday.
“The candidate who gets elected will get a tenure of only one and a half years. After that, elections will be held again. Therefore, this election should be unopposed. This has been our culture. Earlier, in the by-elections held after the death of Gopinath Munde, I myself had taken a stand as the President of the NCP. I had said that if any member of Munde's family contests the by-election, we will support it,” Pawar said.
When asked if it was a little too late to appeal to have this by-poll unopposed, since the nominations have already been filed, Pawar said that he wasn’t making an appeal just because other parties had made similar requests. “"I am not making this appeal as other parties are making, but I am making this appeal as the president of the NCP. The date for withdrawal of the election nomination is still pending. Before that, it was necessary to take a decision regarding this. I was also assessing the situation. I think this election should be unopposed. It is necessary to mention this before the last day of withdrawal of application,” Pawar said.