Mumbai: The most talked about Andheri by-election for appointing the member of the legislative assembly (MLA) for the Andheri-east constituency will take place on Thursday, November 3.
Though Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray's (UBT) Shiv Sena contestant Rutuja Latke does not have any major opposition, the election will be remembered for happenings including a rift in Shiv Sena followed by name and symbol changes.
The election commission announced a by-election in the Andheri constituency on November 3 after sitting Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, died of a heart attack in Dubai in May this year. The Uddhav-Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena announced his wife, Rutuja Latke, who was also employed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), as the contestant.
First clash between the Thackeary and Shinde factions
Initially, it was supposed to be the first clash between Uddhav Thackeary and CM Eknath Shinde factions, since the Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, and Shiv Sena collapsed after the then PWD minister Eknath Shinde, along with 40 other MLAs, withdrew their support and met with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a new Shinde-Fadnavis government.
However, that could not become reality as almost all parties, including Congress and the BJP, have supported Latke after an appeal by UBT Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray.
Shiv Sena's name and symbol changed
Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde gets new party symbol and names for their side. |
While the election is also considered memorable because, both Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde went to the Election Commission and even the Delhi High Court over the names and symbols they used to represent their sides in this election.
As a result, Shiv Sena became Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Shiv Sena and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, and both of them have the new symbols of Mashal (torch) and two swords and a shield, respectively.
Who was supposed to constitute a crime against Latke?
As they were part of the government with UBT Sena, Congress and NCP had announced their full support to Rutuja Latke. The BJP had named Murji Patel. who later withdrew from the race after the BJP decided not to contest after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray's letter to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
About the constituency
Two of the three assembly elections held since the Andheri East constituency's establishment in 2009, with a voter base of around 2.78 lakh, have seen a Sena candidate triumph. The population profile of the constituency gave the Sena an advantage and made it a dominant participant because roughly one in three voters in the area spoke Marathi.
This Assembly seat has a total of eight civic electoral wards, four of which are wholly under its control and the other four are split between the jurisdictions of the assembly constituencies of Andheri East, Jogeshwari, and Vile Parle.
