Nawab Malik, former Maharashtra minister and a leader of NCP's Ajit Pawar faction, filed two nomination forms for Mumbai's Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Assembly seat today, setting off high drama as many wondered if a pre-poll shocker is on the cards.
The senior leader filed two nomination forms, one as a candidate of NCP (Ajit Pawar) and another as an Independent. The move sparked a buzz. Later in the day, however, Mr Malik said he is NCP's official candidate. "Today, I filed a nomination from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Vidhan Sabha constituency as NCP candidate. I filed the form as an Independent candidate too. But the party has sent the AB form and we submitted it at 2.55 pm. Now I am an official candidate for NCP," he said.
"I am very thankful to Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare. They have confidence in me... A huge number of voters will support me... I am very confident we will win Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency this time," Mr Malik said.
Earlier, the senior politician said the party's AB form had not been submitted. "If the AB form is submitted in time, I will contest as a party candidate. If not, I will fight independently as per the people's wish," he said.
An AB form is submitted by a political party, confirming its candidate for a particular seat.
Nawab Malik currently represents Anushakti Nagar seat in Mumbai. This time, Ajit Pawar's NCP has fielded his daughter Sana Malik from this seat. Sana Malik is up against Fahad Ahmed, who recently joined the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar. Fahad Ahmed is the husband of actor Swara Bhasker.
In the run-up to the November 20 election, Mr Malik had been making a pitch for a poll pass. His remarks were widely seen as attempts to build pressure on the leadership to ensure he gets a ticket. Earlier, he had said people had urged him to contest polls from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar.
"I will be filing my nomination on October 29 from the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Assembly constituency. The public has urged me to contest elections from here. The public is very upset with the hooliganism and drug business going on in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar. The public wants change and I will be contesting the elections from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar and will surely win...I don't care who is opposing me, the public is supporting me," he said.
The Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat is a stronghold of Samajwadi Party's Abu Azmi, who has been winning it since 2009.
Nawab Malik faces resistance within the Mahayuti alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP (Ajit Pawar).
The BJP has said it is against his candidature. "We will not accept giving a ticket to someone linked to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim," Ashish Shelar, Mumbai BJP chief, said last week. "We won't support Malik and will have a different stand," he added.
Mr Malik was a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and was arrested in 2022 in an NIA case against Dawood and his associates, including Chhota Shakeel and Tigar Memon. He was granted bail on medical grounds in July this year. He sided with the Ajit Pawar-led faction after the NCP split.
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