‘Don’t run against Rutuja Latke’: Raj Thackeray's appeal to BJP ahead of bypoll

Deputy chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has admitted that the letter was sent to him in good faith, but he said that he would have to discuss it with the party leadership before taking a decision.

Ahead of the high-stakes Andheri East bypoll next month, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday urged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to drop its candidate and back Uddhav Thackeray-led faction's Rutuja Latke, the wife to late MLA Ramesh Latke, whose death has necessitated the election.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray addresses a press conference. (HT file)

Deputy chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has admitted that the letter was sent to him in good faith, but he said that he would have to discuss it with the party leadership before taking a decision.

In a letter addressed to the BJP leader, which he posted on social media, Raj Thackeray said the MNS will not field any candidate for the November 3 by-election 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,” the MNS chief said.

Raj 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."

Ramesh Latke, the sitting MLA from Andheri East, died of a cardiac arrest in May. The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have decided to support Rutuja, a candidate of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party.

Welcoming Raj Thackeray's appeal, Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Arvind Sawant said, “It is too late now. The nominations have already been filed and the election is forced on us because of the BJP. The BJP has contested similar by-polls in the past when the election was necessitated due to a sitting MLA's death.”

BJP MLC Prasad Lad said, “Neither Uddhav Thackeray nor any of his colleagues contacted the BJP requesting or appealing to its leaders to not contest the bypolls. They were sitting in their ivory tower.”

Speaking to reporters, Rutuja said, “I had earlier thought that this will be a unanimous election, but I am ready to fight the bypoll.”

(With inputs from PTI)