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Priyanka Chaturvedi's ‘egg on their faces’ swipe as NOTA comes 2nd in bypoll
Andheri (East) assembly bypoll result: Rutuja Latke, the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray's candidate, won the bypoll to Andheri (East) assembly seat in Mumbai.
Rutuja Latke, the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray's candidate, on Sunday won the bypoll to Andheri (East) assembly seat in Mumbai with 66,530 votes. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took the opportunity to take a potshot at the Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde's Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and BJP in Maharashtra, saying they are “now left with egg on their faces”.
“Congratulations Rutuja Latke ji! The @ShivSena’s Mashaal has registered a Vishaal victory in the Andheri East bypoll. So, the NOTA votes strategy that Khota+Khoka sarkar tried has failed & now left with egg on their faces,” Chaturvedi tweeted.
The Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray had earlier alleged that a campaign was on asking voters to opt for NOTA in the Andheri East assembly by-election.
“On the one hand, the BJP withdrew its candidate, saying it respects the tradition of not fielding a candidate against family members of deceased lawmakers. On the other hand, people are being asked to cast their vote for NOTA,” alleged Sena UBT leader Anil Parab.
The November 3 by-election, necessitated due to the death of sitting Shiv Sena MLA and Rutuja Latke's Ramesh Latke in May, was a mere formality after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew its candidate from the race.
This was the first electoral contest in Maharashtra after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government collapsed in June following a revolt by a section of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Shinde. Shinde subsequently became chief minister in an alliance with the BJP.
Latke is followed by 12,806 votes polled in favour of the None of the Above (NOTA) option, leaving the six other independent candidates far behind. The NOTA gives an option to electors not to vote in favour of any of the candidates in an election.
Sena's Ramesh Latke had represented the Andheri (East) Assembly seat twice. The Shiv Sena had won 56 seats in the 2019 Maharashtra assembly polls. Latke's death brought the tally down to 55.
In June, 40 Sena legislators led by Eknath Shinde revolted against the party leadership, resulting in the collapse of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government (MVA).
