Uddhav faction says BJP withdrew from Andheri assembly bypoll contest only after realisation of imminent defeat

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction claimed BJP candidate Murji Patel withdrew from the Andheri East Assembly bypoll contest after realising that his defeat was imminent.

According to the report of PTI, But even after this “safe passage” the BJP has suffered humiliation, the Thackeray camp claimed further in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’. The Thackeray-led Sena faction has fielded Ramesh Latke’s wife Rutuja Latke, while the BJP had nominated Patel.

After Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray pitched for an unopposed contest, the BJP on Monday pulled out its candidate from the bypoll.

“The withdrawal of the (BJP) candidate does not appear as simple as it looks. In case of a defeat, the Shinde-Fadnavis government must have realised that they have to pay a cost. The BJP must have also realised that the victory of the Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) is imminent,” an editorial in ‘Saamana’ said.

It also claimed that there was a strong possibility of rejection of Patel’s nomination due some anomalies in his papers.