Mumbai, 18th October 2022: The by-election for the Andheri (East) assembly seat in Mumbai was supposed to be a high-voltage contest but is now a mere formality. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is contesting in alliance with the Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, withdrew its candidate. It is now a cakewalk for Shiv Sena’s (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) candidate Rutuja Latte.

On Sunday, MNS chief Raj Thackeray wrote to BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, requesting them to withdraw the BJP candidate against hanging. The seat fell vacant after the sudden demise of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had also made a similar request. After several meetings on Monday, the BJP finally announced that it was withdrawing from the polls.

This by-election was going to be the first fundamental face-off between Uddhav Thackeray and the BJP-Shinde faction after the political drama in Maharashtra. The bypoll was also taking place soon after the Election Commission sealed the Shiv Sena name and bow-arrow symbol and allotted two different names and symbols to the two factions.

BJP and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) filed nominations for their respective candidates amidst much fanfare and show of strength. The withdrawal of the candidate by the BJP may sound like a relief to Uddhav Thackeray, but in reality, it is not. Know what are the five reasons for this –

1. This by-election was an opportunity for Uddhav Thackeray and his camp to test their real power in Mumbai. Rutuja Latke’s victory would have meant that even though leaders, MLAs and MPs have gone with Eknath Shinde, the public and voters are firm with Thackeray. This opportunity has now been snatched from Uddhav Thackeray.

2. It has snatched away the opportunity from Uddhav Thackeray to set the tone for the upcoming BMC elections. A direct clash with the BJP-Shinde alliance was Uddhav’s chance to reach out to voters and popularize his new election symbol (Jalta Mashal) and new name Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

3. Raj Thackeray’s MNS secured good votes in the Andheri (East) assembly constituency in the last elections. MNS focused on Marathi voters here. The BJP fielding a non-Marathi candidate would have meant that the MNS votes would either move to the Shiv Sena (UBT) or stay away from the BJP – this could have proved to be an advantage for Uddhav Thackeray, but now such a situation will not arise.

4. If there was a direct contest between the BJP-Balasahebunchi Shiv Sena alliance and Shiv Sena (UBT) and Uddhav Thackeray’s faction would have won this by-election, it would have had an impact in Mumbai. Several former BMC councillors are yet to decide whether to stay with Uddhav or join the Shinde faction ahead of the BMC elections.

5. With a straight fight between a Gujarati and a Marathi candidate, the saying ‘Marathi Manush ki Party’ would have gained strength for the Uddhav faction in this election. There could have been a polarization of Marathi votes before the BMC elections, which is not visible now.