Major setback to Uddhav-led Shiv Sena in Central constituency

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Sensation prevailed in the political circle after the

the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate from the Aurangabad Central Assembly constituency, Kishanchand Tanwani, announced his sudden withdrawal from the election, through a press conference on Monday.

With just one day left to file nomination papers, Tanwani's last-minute decision to withdraw from the election has put the Shiv Sena in a predicament regarding changing their candidate.

While announcing his decision, Tanwani said that the Shiv Sena candidate (of the Shinde faction) from the Central constituency, Pradeep Jaiswal, had assured him during the 2019 elections that he would not contest the next election and would support him. However, Jaiswal is now a candidate for the Eknath Shinde faction. Tanwani mentioned that he had met Jaiswal twice to request him to withdraw from the election and support him, but Jaiswal is not willing to step back. As a result, the situation has become similar to that of the 2014 elections.

Tanwani stated that the division of Hindu votes would likely lead to the victory of the AIMIM candidate, which influenced his decision to withdraw from the elections. He mentioned that he had not discussed this decision with party chief Uddhav Thackeray. When asked if internal factionalism within the party prompted his withdrawal, he responded that he would address internal matters on the party platform, avoiding further elaboration.

When questioned if he was withdrawing for the sake of his friend Jaiswal, he remarked that friendship should be mutual and questioned why he should love Jaiswal one-sidedly. Tanwani expressed his willingness to work for any other candidate nominated by the party as the district chief. Meanwhile, Tanwani’s decision is being seen as a significant setback for the Uddhav faction of the Shiv Sena, while simultaneously raising hopes among other aspirants within the party.