Andheri Assembly Bypoll: BJP's Withdrawal A Strategic Move With Eye On Mumbai Civic Polls
NDTV
Andheri East assembly constituency is one of the 26 constituencies located in the Mumbai Suburban district. It is a part of the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency.
The BJP's last-minute decision to pull out of the high-decibel Andheri (east) Assembly bypoll is seen as a strategic step factoring in the "sympathy factor" potentially in favour of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction's nominee Rutuja Latke, say political observers.
The BJP leadership must have weighed the odds and concluded that the risk to pit Murji Patel against the wife of late MLA Ramesh Latke is not worth taking for a single bypoll as the main battle is shaping up for the BMC polls, they said.
"If Rutuja Latke wins, it will come as a morale booster for Uddhav Thackeray. Her victory will mean that voters' sympathy is with Thackeray after the split in the party. The BJP seems wanted to deny Mr Thackeray any chance to claim a high moral ground," they said.
Moreover, the Eknath Shinde faction doesn't have much presence in Andheri whereas the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction has loyal Marathi voters.
