Post-split, Andheri (East) Assembly bypoll a litmus test for Uddhav  

Backing BJP, Shinde camp not to field candidate; Congress and NCP to support Sena (MVA) candidate 

The by-election to the Andheri (East) Assembly seat on November 3 is going to be a ‘Maha Sangram’ of sorts as both the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and rival Eknath Shinde camp-BJP alliance will be pitted against each other.

The Thackeray camp is expected to field Sena MLA the late Ramesh Latke's spouse Rutuja as it heavily depends on the sympathy factor. Latke died of heart attack while on a trip to Dubai in May.

For the Shinde camp, which has been making rapid strides to claim legitimacy to carry on the legacy of Shiv Sena founder the late Bal Thackery, the Andheri (East) may not give any upmanship as the alliance seems to have already zeroed in on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) former corporator Murji Patel.

The bypoll will be the first litmus test for Mr. Uddhav Thackeray to prove his strength ahead of the BMC elections. Mr. Thackeray is often criticised by the Eknath Shinde faction and the BJP for joining hands with the grand old Congress party and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party for power by compromising the Hindutva principles of Bal Thackery. With eyes on the ensuing BMC elections, the BJP is working out a robust plan to wrest the control of the civic body.

“This is the first battle post-split, and both factions will try their best to prove their strength. However, as Chief Minister Shinde doesn’t have a hold over Mumbai, he is not going to field the candidate from his faction and naturally support the BJP,” political analyst Hemant Desai told The Hindu.

Though the BJP has a strong vote bank in Andheri, it is the sympathy factor that is going to help the Shiv Sena, he observed. “They [Mr. Shinde and the BJP] will put all efforts to win as it will have a massive impact on the forthcoming BMC elections. And in case if sympathy factor didn’t work and the Sena loses it, it will be a big psychological blow for them,” Mr. Desai said.

Senior members of the Thackeray camp alleged that Mr. Shinde had lost the legitimacy to claim the legacy of the Shiv Sena as he is seen losing out to the BJP on what he claims to have inherited.