Maharashtra Navirman Sena president Raj Thackeray (File)Maharashtra Navirman Sena president Raj Thackeray Sunday wrote to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asking the latter not to field a BJP candidate for the upcoming November 3 bypoll for the Andheri East Assembly constituency, necessitated due to the death of late MLA Ramesh Latke.
In a letter addressed to Fadnavis, which was released on social media, Thackeray said, the MNS will not be contesting the bypoll to show its “reverence for the deceased legislator.”
“The Andheri East bypoll was necessitated after the death of sitting MLA Ramesh Latke and his wife Rutuja has filed her nomination. The MNS will not contest the election as our way of paying reverence to the departed soul,” he said.
Thackeray added, “I sincerely request you not to enter the byelection and field a candidate against Rutuja Latke. I have witnessed late Ramesh Latke’s journey and growth in the political arena.”
After the death of MLA Ramesh Latke, his widow has filed for candidature in the Andheri east by-poll. I request you to not fight any candidate against her. This will be an honourable tribute to the departed soul.@Dev_Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/OE8CDZkQsX
— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) October 16, 2022
Thackeray asked BJP to ensure that Rutuja Latke became the MLA for the constituency, as it would be “in accordance with Maharashtra’s political culture.”
Responding to Thackeray’s letter, Deputy CM Fadnavis said, while the letter was sent in “good faith,” he would have to discuss it with the party leadership before taking a decision.
Fadnavis said, “I have received the letter from Raj Thackeray. His intentions are good. But I alone cannot take decision in my party. We have filed the nomination and announcement has come from above. We will have to speak with our leadership before giving reply to this letter. We will also have to discuss with our ally Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena. Only then I can comment on this.”
Fadnavis further said that BJP leader Ashish Shelar had met Raj Thackeray at the latter’s residence during the day with a request to support the BJP’s candidate in the bypoll. “Raj expressed his wish to Shelar that the BJP should not contest the election. Now, he has written to me as well,” the deputy chief minister was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
PTI also reported Shiv Sena chief spokesperson and MP Arvind Sawant as saying, “I welcome Raj Thackeray’s appeal, but it is too late. The nominations have already been filed and the election is forced on us because of the BJP. The BJP has contested similar bypoll in the past when the election was necessitated due to a sitting MLA’s death.”
The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have decided to support Rutuja Latke. The Andheri East bypoll will be the first bye-election after the collapse of the Uddhav-led government. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Rutuja Latke is pitted against BJP’s Murji Patel. The elections are likely to witness an intense political battle whose result will portend how politics in the state plays out in the coming few months.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has declared a public holiday for the Andheri East Assembly constituency on November 3, said an official. In an official release, the district election officer on Saturday stated that the holiday will be applicable to central and state government offices, semi-government offices, public enterprises, banks, and others.