Swikriti Sharma, the wife of former controversial encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, as per reports, has withdrawn her candidacy from Mumbai’s Andheri East constituency.
Sharma withdrew her nomination after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde promised her an MLC seat if the party came back to power.
"I would like to thank Shinde sir. For the last 10 years, we have been in social service. We got an opportunity to work on a bigger platform. The CM sir has promised us that he will give us MLC," Sharma told news agency ANI.
On October 28, a day before filing the nomination, Sharma announced that his wife would contest as an independent candidate for the Andheri East seat. This came after her exclusion from Shiv Sena's candidate list for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
"Things don't always go as planned, but that's politics. With 25,000 supporters from Andheri East, we will file the nomination tomorrow. I am confident people will support my wife when the results are announced on November 23. This isn't a revolt; it's a response to the people's call for us to contest... There may be reasons why we didn't get the ticket, but we are standing as independents," Sharma had said while speaking to news agency ANI.
Ahead of her nomination filing last Tuesday, Swikriti remarked that they would continue serving the people "until our last breath," stressing they harbour no resentment towards any politician or party.
"We've never engaged in politics, nor do we plan to in the future. Our focus is on serving the people... We're not upset with any political figure or party, but we are disappointed with the candidate selected. People know who truly represents them," she told ANI.
The Mahayuti alliance has nominated former corporator and BJP member Murji Patel for the Andheri East constituency on a Shiv Sena ticket.
Both the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition MVA -- comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress -- are making every effort to secure victory in the upcoming state elections.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with vote counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23.
In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42.
