Tension in MVA over Andheri East bypoll

Strap: Congress is not happy with the Sena for nominating a candidate without consulting them MumbaiThere are rumblings of dissent within the opposition alliance Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over the Shiv Sena announcing its candidate for the by-elections from the Andheri East assembly constituency

Strap: Congress is not happy with the Sena for nominating a candidate without consulting them

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MumbaiThere are rumblings of dissent within the opposition alliance Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) over the Shiv Sena announcing its candidate for the by-elections from the Andheri East assembly constituency. These polls, which are expected to take place before the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, have been necessitated after the demise of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May this year. Any vacancies in the Parliament or state legislatures must be filled through by-elections within six months.

The Shiv Sena has nominated Latke’s wife Rutuja from the seat, and a party leader said that a door-to-door campaign has already been launched. The Congress is upset at the Shiv Sena for not consulting its city unit before announcing its nominee.

This will be the first test for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the breakaway Sena faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, making it both a prestige battle and a grudge match. The BJP has indicated that it may choose former corporator Murji Patel as its candidate. The BJP may also be able to count on support from the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

In 2014, Latke had defeated then health minister and three-term Congress MLA Suresh Shetty. In 2019, Latke contested and won against Patel, who was an independent, yet was said to be have been backed by the BJP. The Congress candidate Amin Kutty was the second runner-up.

A senior leader of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) said, “Our claim on the seat stands as we have contested from there in the past.” He added that H.K. Patil, secretary, All India Congress Committee (AICC) and Maharashtra in-charge, would meet party leaders next week to discuss the issue. “We may either support the Shiv Sena candidate or even decide to contest the elections,” the Congress leader said.

The Marathi speakers, many of whom hail from the Konkan belt, form the largest chunk of votes in the constituency, followed by North Indians, Gujaratis, Marwadis, Jains, South Indians and Muslims.