Who Is Rutuja Latke? Sena's Andheri East Bypoll Candidate Even Rival Shinde Faction And MNS Are Rooting For

Andheri East Assembly Bypoll: As BJP withdraws from the byelection, know why Uddhav-led Sena faction's candidate Rutuja Latke received even Raj Thackeray's support to become MLA.

Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Party candidate Rutuja Latke

Source : Twitter/@rutuja_latke

Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, in the Andheri East Assembly seat is receiving support across party lines in Maharashtra.

Be it the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Party's ally Nationalist Congress Party or the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, prominent political leaders urged the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shinde led-'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' to let Rutuja Latke be elected to Andheri East Assembly seat unopposed as a bypoll was set to take place on November 3.

Who Is Rutuja Latke?

Rutuja Latke is Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Party's nominee for the bypoll and enjoys the support of the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress.

The bypoll is being held because of the unfortunate death of her husband Ramesh Latke who was a corporator and an MLA.

Politicians across the board have supported Rutuja in honour of Ramesh Latke's political journey as Raj Thackeray described, “Ramesh Latke was an old colleague and I have personally seen his political growth from a humble party worker to an MLA. I felt there is no need to contest against his wife, as there is not much time left for the next Assembly elections.”

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) employee, she resigned earlier this month to contest the bypoll, but the civic body refused to accept it. Latke later approached the Bombay High Court, which relieved her by directing the BMC to accept her resignation.

The Uddhav Thackeray faction alleged that the BMC was under pressure to delay the resignation, a claim denied by Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal.

She was up against BJP's Murji Patel until state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced in Nagpur that the party will not contest Mumbai's Andheri East assembly by-election and their candidate Murji Patel will withdraw the nomination.

Former CM Sharad Pawar, MNS Chief Raj Thackeray Extend Support

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday sought the unopposed election of Rutuja Latke 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.

In a letter addressed to Fadnavis and posted on social media, Raj Thackeray said the MNS will not be contesting the byelection to show its reverence for the deceased legislator.

Appealing to Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray said, “I sincerely request you not to enter the byelection and field a candidate against Rutuja Latke. I have witnessed late Ramesh Latke's journey and growth in the political arena."

"There is a difference between Maharashtra and other states when such situations arise,” he stated, stressing that if BJP does not contest this bypoll, it will send a good message to society.

After the death of MLA Ramesh Latke, his widow has filed for candidature in the Andheri east by-poll. I request you to not fight any candidate against her. This will be an honourable tribute to the departed soul.@Dev_Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/OE8CDZkQsX

— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) October 16, 2022

Meanwhile, Pawar said that the term for the new member (MLA) will be just one and half years and Latke's contribution must be taken into consideration.

"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.

As per news agency PTI, Uddhav Thackeray appreciated the NCP president's statement saying that it showed the culture of Maharashtra, adding the death of a dedicated party worker causes tremendous pain to the outfit as well as to the family.

He recalled that Shiv Sena did not field candidates in by-polls necessitated by the deaths of the BJP's Gopinath Munde and NCP's RR Patil.

BJP Withdraws From Andheri East Bypoll

Earlier, Devendra Fadnavis defended BJP's participation in the bypoll saying, “In earlier instances when there was proper communication, we had decided not to contest bypolls. For instance, when NCP leader and former home minister R R Patil died. It is not like we (BJP) never considered opting out of a byelection. Whenever there is a proper communication or an appeal made to us, we have responded properly", PTI reported.

BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday announced in Nagpur that the party will not contest Mumbai's Andheri East assembly by-election and their candidate Murji Patel will withdraw his nomination.

"We were sure of our victory but BJP has been doing this in the state for a long time. This is an example for people that although we were winning, we've taken back our nomination. This is a good decision by Devendra Fadnavis," he said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

(With Agency Inputs)