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BJP reiterated its objection to Nawab Malik’s candiature by NCP and said that he will not be accepted in the Mahayuti government.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday reiterated the party’s stand on Nawab Malik contesting the Assembly Election on Ajit Pawar’s NCP ticket stating that the BJP will not accept him in the government.
He stressed that Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s Suresh Patil is the official Mahayuti candidate from the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Assembly seat and both BJP and Shiv Sena will campaign for him.
This comes as Nawab Malik received the last-minute AB form from Ajit Pawar to contest the election on the NCP symbol despite strong opposition from allies BJP and Shiv Sena.
Earlier, BJP’s Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar reacted sharply to Malik’s candidature and said, “Time and again, we have made our stand clear about Dawood Ibrahim and the people connected with him. This has been already said by Devendra Fadnavis, and now I am also saying the same. So, there is no question of us campaigning for Nawab Malik.”
Devendra Fadnavis backs Shelar’s stance
Backing the party leader’s remarks on Malik, Fadnavis, at a press conference during which former Congress leader and former LoP of Mumbai Municipal Corporation Ravi Raja joined the BJP, said that Suresh Patil is Mahayuti’s official candidate and Nawab Malik will not be accepted in the government.
“Ashish Shelar has taken a stance on it, and I support the stance that he has taken. We are not going to campaign for him, then how do we accept him in government? Mahayuti candidate is the Shiv Sena candidate against him (Nawab Malik). Shiv Sena and BJP will support him (Suresh Patil),” he said.
Fadnavis on Mahayuti’s CM face and his ambitions
When asked about the Chief Minister’s face of the Mahayuti alliance, Fadnavis said, “I accept the wishes of everyone. Here, the government is going to be that of Mahayuti and not BJP.”
Being queried if he was a CM post aspirant, the Deputy Chief Minister remained mum flashing a smile in response to the query.
Interestingly, Ravi Raja while joining the BJP termed Fadnavis as the “upcoming Chief Minister”. “Greetings to current DCM and upcoming CM Devendra Fadnavis,” Raja said.
More to follow…