NOTA mars Latke’s unopposed contest

Mumbai: After a long struggle, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena finally got a shot in the arm when its candidate Rutuja Lakte won the Andheri East assembly by-poll in Mumbai on Sunday

Mumbai: After a long struggle, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena finally got a shot in the arm when its candidate Rutuja Lakte won the Andheri East assembly by-poll in Mumbai on Sunday. Rujuta secured 66,530 votes, more than her husband Ramesh Latke’s tally of 62,773 votes in the state assembly elections held in 2019. The by-poll was necessitated following Latke’s death in May this year.

Mumbai, India - November 06, 2022: Shivsena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party candidate Rutuja Latke meet Shivsena Chief Uddhav Thackeray after winning Andheri by election at Matoshree,Bandra in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, November 06, 2022. (HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

An interesting facet of the by-poll was that the second-highest number of votes—as many as 12,806—went to NOTA (None Of The Above). This is also probably the highest number of NOTA votes in any election in the state so far.

The Andheri East by-poll was the first significant win of the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena after the split in the party in June and its being made to take on a new name and election symbol, which had virtually put a question mark on its existence. Following a claim made by the Eknath Shinde-led faction on the original Shiv Sena’s name and symbol before the by-poll, the Election Commission (EC) had frozen the Shiv Sena name and its election symbol, the bow-and-arrow, and allotted new names and symbols to both factions.

“After the betrayal and the freezing of our name and symbol, we contested the by-poll on the mashaal (flaming torch) symbol,” said Thackeray. “The credit for this win goes to our sainiks (workers) and allies such as the Congress, NCP, CPI and Sambhaji Brigade. The fight has begun with a victory, and thus I am not worried about the battle ahead of us. We will snatch victory in the future the same way we snatched this one,” Thackeray told reporters at Matoshree, his Bandra residence.

Without referring to his antagonists by name, Thackeray declared, “The one (Eknath Shinde) on whose demand our name and symbol were frozen did not even contest the by-poll. However, those for whom he did this (the BJP) first filed their nomination but later realised they would be defeated and withdrew their candidate.”

The high number of NOTA votes became another point of wrangling among the rival parties. “Such a large number of voters opting for NOTA proves the rising dissatisfaction and dislike for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena,” said BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar, the in-charge of the party’s preparation for the BMC polls. “Had we contested the Andheri East seat, things would have been very different.” To this Thackeray retorted that the BJP, had it contested, would have seen exactly the same number of votes polled for NOTA.

BJP Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar said the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s victory had come with the BJP’s help. “Despite taking help from the Congress, NCP, CPI and dozens of parties, Shiv Sena (UBT) could not mobilise more votes. Had the BJP contested the by-poll, it would have definitely won,” he said, even while congratulating Rutuja Latke on her win.

The BJP’s Murji Patel had withdrawn his nomination from the by-poll at the last minute, ostensibly in keeping with the “political tradition” of the state to not field an opponent against the contesting kin of any deceased legislator. However, the decision was said to have been taken following surveys that indicated a potential sympathy wave for Rutuja Latke, which would have made winning the seat difficult for the BJP.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab claimed the high number of NOTA votes were on account of local BJP leaders deliberately asking their voters to opt for NOTA. “I have pictures and videos of local BJP doing this,” he said. “On the one hand, the BJP withdrew its candidate, saying it respects the tradition of not fielding a candidate against family members of deceased legislators. On the other hand, they asked voters to opt for NOTA. We have filed a complaint with the EC about this mischief.”

The by-poll was interesting as not only had the name and election symbol of the Shiv Sena been frozen but the party was forced to approach the Bombay high court to make the BMC accept Rutuja Latke’s resignation so that she could contest the by-poll. Latke was employed with the BMC as a clerk, and the civic body did not take a decision on her resignation until it was directed by the high court to accept it on October 13.