Mumbai:
The BJP as we speak issued a scathing criticism of the candidature of Nawab Malik, one of many key leaders of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, who was backed by the get together on the final minute for the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat within the coming meeting election in Maharashtra. Mr Malik, accused in an alleged cash laundering case involving mafia don Dawood Ibrahim and his associates Chhota Shakeel and Tiger Memon, had filed two nominations. One of those was as a member of the NCP and the opposite as an Independent. But after the get together backing, he referred to as himself the official candidate.
“The BJP’s stance may be very clear. All the events within the alliance ought to resolve their very own candidate,” stated the get together’s Maharashtra unit chief Ashish Shelar later as we speak.
“The challenge is barely about Nawab Malik’s official candidature from NCP. Devendra Fadnavis has again and again clarified the stance of the get together, I say it once more: The BJP won’t marketing campaign for Nawab Malik. There is not any query of us campaigning for him, as a result of we can’t endorse anybody who’s associated to any Dawood or Dawood associated case,” he added, underscoring the reservations they expressed earlier as nicely.
But the get together gave the advantage of the doubt to Mr Malik’s daughter Sana Malik, who’s the NCP’s official candidate from the Anushakti Nagar seat, the place her father is the sitting MLA.
“As lengthy as we do not get any proof and details about her, all Mahayuti candidates are BJP’s candidates,” Mr Shelar stated.
NCP sources stated there was BJP stress on Ajit Pawar to not give nomination to Nawab Malik. But Mr Pawar has additionally been going through criticism from nearer quarters – his partymen, who really feel that he has been compromising a little bit an excessive amount of.
In the Lok Sabha election, the NCP was allowed to contest solely 4 seats. In the meeting polls, they bought the smallest share of Maharashtra’s 288 seats – this even after bringing the identical variety of MLAs as Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to the ruling alliance.
Sources indicated that Mr Pawar needed to assert himself someplace – and this was an apt case since Nawab Malik is among the high 5 leaders of his get together. Mr Malik is a outstanding face within the Muslim group and the lack of their help had price the get together so much through the Lok Sabha election.
The NCP historically had good relations with the Muslim group and Pawar Junior’s alliance with the BJP has eroded this base.
But in view of the alliance and the BJP’s reservations, sources stated, the get together didn’t make its help to Nawab Malik public until the final second – that was at 2.55 pm, 5 minutes earlier than the expiry of the deadline.
Mr Malik’s huge rival from Mankhurd, Samajwadi Party’s three-time sitting MLA Abu Azmi, has stated the BJP’s reservations are an eyewash. His presence within the contest is predicted to separate the Muslim vote, if not beat the SP candidate outright.
That would play into the palms of the ruling alliance. The BJPs’ Kirit Somaiya has posted on X, previously Twitter, that Shiv Sena’s Suresh Krishna Patil is its official candidate.
“Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Legislative Assembly Shiv Sena candidate Suresh Krishnarao Patil (‘ popularly often called ‘Bullet Patil’) got here to my workplace this night. I assured him of my full help and wished him nicely,” learn his message posted this night.