Good news for Mahayuti: Two rebels pull out of race as battle heats up in Maharashtra

Former encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma's wife Swikriti Sharma on Monday withdrew her nomination as an Independent candidate in the Maharashtra assembly polls. She had filed her nomination from Andheri East, a seat currently held by Uddhav Thackeray's Rutuja Latke. This time, the Mahayuti has fielded former corporator and BJP leader Murji Patel from Andheri East on a Shiv Sena ticket.

After she withdrew her candidature, she said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde promised her a MLC seat. "For the last 10 years, we have been in social service. We got an opportunity to work on a bigger platform. The CM sir has promised us that he will give us MLC," she said while speaking to news agency ANI. 

Earlier today, former MP Gopal Shetty, who had filed nomination as an independent, announced the withdrawal of his candidature from Borivali in Mumbai. The BJP has nominated Sanjay Upadhyay from Borivali. On Sunday, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde held a meeting with Shetty to persuade him to withdraw his nomination. 

Meanwhile, Congress has also succeeded in placating rebel Mukhtar Shaikh, who had filed nomination from the Kasba Assembly constituency as an independent category. Shaikh has also withdrawn his nomination. He said several party leaders including Ramesh Chennithala spoke to him and gave assurances that he would get a position in the government. "This is when I decided to withdraw my nomination. I will support the MVA candidate."

After withdrawing his nomination, Gopal Shetty voiced frustration with the BJP's approach to decision-making, criticizing the party's tendency to bypass consultation with local members like himself. "The party repeatedly chose assembly candidates from outside without involving me, yet it was assumed I had been consulted," Shetty remarked, clarifying that he had no input in selecting candidates for the Borivali constituency.

Shetty's dissent was seen as a setback for the BJP in its Mumbai stronghold. Known for his electoral strength, he won the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat by over four lakh votes in both 2014 and 2019 but was denied a ticket for the 2024 general elections. The seat went instead to senior BJP leader Piyush Goyal, now a Union minister.

A veteran leader in Mumbai North, Shetty served as an MLA from Borivali in 2004 and 2009 and held the position of corporator there for several years. When he won his first Lok Sabha election in 2014, the BJP nominated Vinod Tawde for the Borivali assembly seat, one of the party's safest constituencies. Tawde, who was later appointed BJP’s national general secretary, was not re-nominated in 2019.