Maha: Cong and NCP support nominee of Uddhav Thackeray's camp for Andheri bypoll


2 min read
Read later
Print
Share

Thackeray. Photo: PTI

Mumbai: The Congress and the NCP on Monday extended their support to the candidate picked by Uddhav Thackeray for the upcoming Andheri (East) Assembly byelection, making it a contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the ruling BJP-Eknath Shinde alliance.

The factions led by Thackeray and Chief Minister Shinde cannot use the name 'Shiv Sena' and the party symbol- 'bow and arrow- for the bypoll, as per the interim order of the Election Commission.

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole met Thackeray earlier in the day.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab said Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party have decided to support Sena's candidate Rutuja Latke for the November 3 contest.

“The Andheri assembly byelection will be contested jointly by all the three parties of MVA. Congress and the NCP have decided to support our candidate,” Parab, flanked by Mumbai Congress chief Bhai Jagtap and NCP leader Rakhi Jadhav, told reporters.

The MVA was formed after the 2019 Maharashtra elections after Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress joined hands to deny BJP another term.

The bypoll will be held against the backdrop of the vertical split in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in June this year and the ensuing court battle between the two factions.

“In the past, Shiv Sena has extended its support to respective candidates of Congress and the NCP in the previous bye-elections. Shiv Sena's Ramesh Latke had won the 2019 assembly elections from Andheri (East), thus we have decided to field his wife in this election,” Parab said.

Murji Patel is likely to be the nominee of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Shinde faction, which shares power with BJP in the state, has yet to clarify its position on contesting the bypoll, necessitated by the death of Ramesh Latke.

On Saturday, the Election Commission froze Shiv Sena's "bow and arrow" poll symbol and barred the factions led by Thackeray and Shinde from using the name of the party in view of the bypoll.

On Monday, the EC allotted ‘flaming torch' (mashaal) as the election symbol to the Thackeray faction and ‘ShivSena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray' as the party name.

The poll body allotted ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' (Balasaheb's Shiv Sena) name for the Eknath Shinde group of the party.

PTI

Add Comment
Related Topics

Get daily updates from Mathrubhumi.com

Newsletter
Youtube
Telegram
Disclaimer: Kindly avoid objectionable, derogatory, unlawful and lewd comments, while responding to reports. Such comments are punishable under cyber laws. Please keep away from personal attacks. The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of readers and not that of Mathrubhumi.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
hospital

1 min

Digital health mission: Kerala records over 130 lakh ABHA IDs

Sep 24, 2023


KG George

2 min

Evening Brief | September 24, 2023 

Sep 24, 2023


Danish Ali

2 min

BJP MP's allegations baseless, narrative being set for 'lynching me': Danish Ali

Sep 24, 2023