New Delhi: There was a sigh of relief for political parties grappling with rebel candidates in the Maharashtra assembly elections. Monday was the last date for withdrawal of nominations. On the last day, a record number of rebel leaders withdrew their nominations.
According to the information, there were a total of 35 rebel candidates in the Mahayuti comprising the BJP, Shinde faction’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Similarly, there were 14 rebels in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition of Uddhav faction’s Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s NCP and the Congress. Sources said that a total of 49 rebels withdrew their nominations. Voting will be held in the state on November 20 while the results will be announced on November 23.
Parties issued instructions
The rebel candidates were first persuaded by the political parties. After this, on Sunday evening, almost all the political parties issued instructions that if their rebel leaders do not withdraw their nominations, strict action will be taken against them. The next day, most of the rebels took back their nominations. The withdrawal of nominations of the rebels has definitely provided some immediate relief to the political parties. However, it will be known only on November 23 who will benefit and who will be lose by these leaders who are apparently angry at not getting the ticket.
Former BJP MP Gopal Shetty withdraws nomination
The biggest name in this is former BJP MP Gopal Shetty. Gopal Shetty decided not to contest the election as an independent and on Monday morning, he withdrew his nomination from Borivali seat. BJP had given ticket to Sanjay Upadhyay from Borivali seat, due to which he got peeved and filed his nomination papers on the last day of nomination on October 29. He had pointed out that he took this decision not because of the desire for a ticket, but because of the concern for the local workers. The workers were constantly being ignored, he claimed. Congress’s Mukhtar Sheikh withdrew his nomination from Pune’s Kasba Peth assembly constituency and announced support to the party’s official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.
Sada Sarvankar doesn’t withdraw his name from Mahim
Even though the Mahim seat was one where there was huge pressure for Sada Sarvankar, who is contesting on a Shiv Sena (Shinde) ticket, to withdraw his nomination, he did not take back his name. He will contest against Amit Thackeray, the son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray. This cannot be dubbed as a rebellion, but it can definitely be called a “friendly contest”, as Eknath Shinde and Raj Thackeray share a good rapport.
In Maharashtra, as many as 51 rebels associated with various parties have withdrawn their nominations. These include 10 from the BJP, 8 from the Shinde Shiv Sena faction, and 6 from the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP, bringing the total for Mahayuti to 24. On the other hand, 11 from the Congress, 6 from the Uddhav faction of Shiv Sena, and 4 from the Sharad Pawar faction of NCP also agreed to withdraw at the last moment, making the total for the MVA 21.The strike rate of both the alliances in persuading the rebels is almost equal. The number of other candidates is 6.
How many leaders rebelled in Mahayuti?
BJP- 10
Eknath Shinde group – 8
Ajit Pawar group – 6
How many rebels were there in Maha Vikas Aghadi?
Congress- 11
UBT – 6
Sharad Pawar group- 4
These big faces were among rebels of Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi
Gopal Shetty- Borivali (BJP); Avinash Rane- Anushakti Nagar (Shinde faction); Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati- Kolhapur North (Congress); Mukhtar Sheikh- Kasba Peth (Congress); Baburao Mane- Dharavi (UBT).
