The surprise move, which was probably strategically delayed until the last day of nomination papers, drew a sharp reaction from the BJP, which immediately announced that Shiv Sena's Suraj Krishna Patil Mahavati will be the 'official' candidate for this seat.
“The official Mahawati (Shiv Sena) candidate from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar is Bullit Patil. We will fight to defeat candidates who support vote jihad, terrorism,” said BJP leader Kirti Soumya.
Nawab Malik, who is the sitting MLA from Anushaktinagar and is out on medical bail, said: “Today, I filed nomination papers from Mankhard Shivajinagar Vidhan Sabha constituency as an NCP candidate. I am an independent candidate. Also filed form as but party has sent AB form and we submitted it at 2.55 pm and now I am official candidate of NCP.
He thanked the NCP leadership for reposing faith in him. “I am very grateful to (Deputy Chief Minister) Ajit Pawar, NCP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel, and NCP leader Sunil Titkare. They have faith in me (to win the election). One of the voters. A large number will support me and I am very confident that this time we will win from Mankhod Shivaji Nagar constituency,” he said.
Malik Maha Vikas was a minister in the Aghadi government and was arrested in 2022 in a case earlier registered by the NIA against Dawood Ibrahim and his accomplices, including Chhota Shakeel and Tigar Memon. He was arrested for allegedly grabbing property in Kurla with the help of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim's sister. Malik was granted bail on medical grounds in July this year. The two-time MLA from Anushakti Nagar had earlier in the month announced that he would contest as an independent candidate from the Mankhod Shivaji Nagar seat after the NCP refused to give him a ticket due to pressure from the BJP. Will compete.
Under the pressure of the BJP, the NCP kept silent on Malik's candidature until the last day of filing nomination papers. In fact, the NCP did not include Nawab Malik in the list of 27 star campaigners announced last week. Ajit Pawar seems to have strategically delayed this decision till the last minute.
Four-way contest in Mankhard Shivaji Nagar: Who will benefit from vote-splitting?
Mankhard Shivajinagar seat has been represented by Abu Asim Azmi of Samajwadi Party since 2009. He won the seat by around 25,000 votes in the 2019 assembly elections defeating Shiv Sena's Vithal Govind Lokhare. The seat is one of the 6 assembly constituencies of the Mumbai North East Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Sanjay Deena Patil of the Shiv Sena (UBT). Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena has already announced Rajendra Waghmare as its candidate from this seat. Waghmare, a former corporator, filed two nomination forms: one as an independent candidate and the other as a Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee. This despite the fact that Mankhard is one of the five seats that Abu Azmi sought from the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the Samajwadi Party. In fact, Azmi had threatened to field 25 independent candidates if the MVA did not meet his demand.
Mankhurd seat has a sizeable Muslim population and the presence of Nawab Malik in the electoral fray could split their votes. However, with both Shinde Sena and Uddhav Sena also throwing their hat in the ring, it will be interesting to see who ultimately benefits from the vote split in this four-cornered contest.