November 4. The last date for withdrawal of candidature for the Maharashtra assembly elections.
Whether Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will give in to BJP's demand to withdraw the candidature of Nawab Malik from the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency, will be known on this date.
Malik filed his nomination on October 29 as a candidate of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The BJP is in alliance with Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena under the Mahayuti banner.
The Mahayuti government has been witnessing much strife over Malik's candidature, with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis asserting that he or his party’s leaders will not campaign for Malik. Instead, the Mahayuti leaders will campaign for the Shiv Sena candidate in the constituency.
Malik was a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. NIA had registered a case against Dawood Ibrahim and his associates Chhota Shakeel and Tiger Memon, and arrested Malik in that case in 2022. Supreme Court, however, granted Malik bail on medical grounds in August last year.
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Nawab Malik is the sitting MLA from Anushakti Nagar. However, his daughter Sana Malik is contesting from the seat on the NCP ticket this time. The BJP has declared that it does not have any objection to her candidature.
Earlier, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, too, had retiterated that Ajit Pawar should not have given the ticket to the controversial NCP leader. "The serious allegations and chargesheet against him [Nawab Malik] are unacceptable to Maharashtra,” Shelar was quoted as saying by ANI.
#WATCH | #MaharashtraElection2024 | On NCP candidate Nawab Malik, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar says, "Ajit Pawar should not have given a ticket to him, there are several people in Maharashtra who think this. The kind of serious allegations and chargesheet he has against him can… pic.twitter.com/5rE4FZTt8N
— ANI (@ANI) October 31, 2024
“The BJP has made its stance clear. Maharashtra opposes an international terrorist like Dawood. Despite this, if he has been given a ticket, the BJP cannot associate with such people. We won't campaign for this candidate. Instead, we will support the candidate running against him."
Shelar had earlier released a video message making the party's stand clear that it will not campaign for Malik.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, Malik said he does not want the support of the BJP or the Shiv Sena. He said he will always support Ajit Pawar.
The Maharashtra assembly elections will be held in a single phase on November 20, and the counting will take place on November 23.
