Will Nawab Malik Withdraw Nomination As NCP Candidate Ajit Pawar Reacts Rift Over MLA In Mahayuti

The Maharashtra political arena is on the boil with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party failing to come to an agreement over the candidature of Anushakti Nagar MLA Nawab Malik. Attending the ABP Shikhar Sammelan in Lucknow on Wednesday, NCP chief Ajit Pawar reacted to the reports of a “rift” between the two constituent parties of the Mahayuti, saying they would “find a way out of the situation”.

BJP, NCP Clash Over Nawab Malik’s Candidature In Maharashtra Elections

On one hand, the BJP said that it would not accept the candidature of Nawab Malik from the Mahayuti, while on the other Ajit Pawar has been standing rock solid by him. Ajit Pawar, in fact, went a step further and fielded Nawab Malik’s daughter Sana from the Anushakti Nagar constituency this year for the Maharashtra assembly elections. Nawab Malik has been fielded from the Manhkurd Shivaji Nagar constituency. However, Nawab Maik also filed his nomination as an independent. He will have to withdraw either of the nominations, as per the Election Commission’s rules.

The Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar has been a bastion of Abu Azmi, a Samajwadi Party candidate, for 15 years. The row over Nawab Malik’s candidature comes at a time when the BJP has put its weight behind Shiv Sena’s Suresh Krishan Patil as the “official” candidate of the Mahayuti. The BJP’s Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar even declared that the party will not campaign for Malik, even though he is an NCP candidate.

BJP is against Nawab Malik in the Mahayuti over his alleged links to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Malik is out on medical bail in a money laundering case linked to Dawood. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in February 2022.  

Ajit Pawar On Nawab Malik’s Candidature

Fielding a question on whether he is exerting pressure on the BJP in the Nawab Malik case, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar said there was no pressure tactic involved in the Mahayuti. “We shall find a way out of this,” he said. However, he dodged an answer on whether the “way out” would be the withdrawal of Malik’s candidature. “You will get the answer when the time for withdrawal of nominations is over,” Pawar said.