Andheri East

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday thanked Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the BJP's decision to withdraw its candidate from the bypoll to Andheri East Assembly seat in Mumbai. In a letter written to Fadnavis, Thackeray referred to the senior BJP leader as his dear friend and said it is essential to have a positive political culture. He said the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is always in favour of proliferation of such a positive culture. I am thankful that you responded to this (appeal), Thackeray said. Thackeray had on Sunday written another letter to Fadnavis, asking the ruling BJP to pull out of the bypoll race to show reverence to late Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, whose death necessitated the byelection. Latke died of cardiac arrest in May this year. BJP's Murji Patel, who withdrew his nomination papers on Monday, was pitted against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction's candidate Rutuja Latke, the wife of Ramesh Latke. NCP chief Sh

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday sought the unopposed election of Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, in the November 3 Andheri East Assembly bypoll while MNS president Raj Thackeray appealed to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis not to field BJP's nominee to show reverence to the late MLA Ramesh Latke. The MNS' appeal to Fadnavis and its decision to not contest the bypoll has generated intense political discussion given Raj Thackeray's political rivalry with his cousin Uddhav Thackeray. The late Latke belonged to Shiv Sena. Notably, the last date for withdrawal of the nominations for the bypoll is October 17. Fadnavis said the proposition of Raj Thackeray will be discussed seriously with BJP leaders and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the final decision will be taken only after a discussion with senior leaders in BJP. He also said whenever there was a proper communication or appeal made to BJP, it was responded to ...

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday sought the unopposed election of Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, in the Andheri East Assembly bypoll scheduled for November 3. Rutuja Latke, the wife of Ramesh Latke, whose death necessitated the bypoll, is up against the Bharatiya Janata Party's Murji Patel. Incidentally, October 17 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations. "The term for the new member (MLA) will be just one-and-half years. The bypoll is being held because of the unfortunate death of Ramesh Latke. His wife is contesting the seat. Latke was a corporator and an MLA. His contribution must be taken into consideration," Pawar said. Huge efforts go into fighting bypolls, which is not required when the term is just for around one year, he said, adding that five to six months are spent with the election code of conduct in place. He also hailed the Bombay High Court order directing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corpora

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Murji Patel filed nomination papers on Friday for the November 3 Andheri East Assembly by-election. He is the joint candidate of the BJP and the Shiv Sena faction headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Patel had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Assembly polls from the same seat against Shiv Sena's Ramesh Latke, whose death earlier this year necessitated the by-election. "I am a worker of the BJP and do what the party asks me to do," Patel said before filing his nomination papers here. In a show of strength, Patel was accompanied by the BJP's Mumbai unit president Ashish Shelar, party MLC Pravin Darekar and MLA Nitesh Rane. Deepak Kesarkar, minister and spokesperson of the Eknath Shinde camp of the Shiv Sena, was also present. On Thursday, Kesarkar had said that the BJP and the 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' headed by CM Shinde would field a joint candidate for the Assembly bypoll. From the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, Rut

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Saturday termed the Election Commission's order barring both the Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions from using the party name and election symbol in the coming Andheri East Assembly bypoll as "injustice". The group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on the other hand, termed the EC order appropriate. The poll body should have holistically taken a decision rather than passing an interim decision for the bypoll, said Ambadas Danve, Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council, a Thackeray loyalist. "This is injustice," he told PTI. Shiv Sena leader and former minister Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday lashed out at the rebel Sena leaders after the EC order. "Khokewale" traitors committed this shameless and vile act of freezing the name Shiv Sena and symbol", he tweeted, adding that the people of Maharashtra would not tolerate it. "We will fight and win. We are on the side of the truth. Satyamev Jayate!" he said in the

Andheri East is a mixed land use precinct with some of the most prominent hospitality and industrial developments in its vicinity