Party MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew its candidate from the Andheri (East) assembly bypolls realizing that it would lose against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate. Raut, an accused in the Patra Chawl redevelopment case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, spoke to some journalists and their supporters in the premises of the special court.
The Shiv Sena MP was produced before Special Judge MG Deshpande at the end of his judicial custody, which was extended till Tuesday. After attending the bail hearing, Raut met his supporters and family members in the court premises.
Initially, he refrained from speaking to reporters, saying that he was not allowed to speak as he was in judicial custody. “The BJP had conducted a survey which predicted that their candidate (Murji Patel) would lose the bypoll by at least 45,000 votes. That is why they decided to withdraw,” claimed Raut when asked about the BJP’s decision.
When asked about Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray writing a letter to Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday, Raut said it was all scripted.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that his party has decided not to contest the Andheri East bypoll.
BJP had not contested some by-elections earlier also, he said, adding that Murji Patel would have won. Patel, who withdrew his nomination papers on Monday, was pitted against Rutuja Latke, wife of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, whose death in May this year necessitated the November 3 bypoll.
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