Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray’s side won the first election after the Shiv Sena was split and thrown out of power by putting Eknath Shinde in front under the leadership of the BJP. The outcome was predictable as the BJP pulled out of the race, but what was unexpected was when the tally of votes came out. In the Andheri (East) by-election, Rutuja Latke, who fielded Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray from the Shiv Sena faction, won by a huge margin. But Nota became the ‘star’ by getting more votes than the remaining six candidates.
Out of a total of 86,570 votes polled, Rutuja got 66,530 votes while Nota got 12,806 votes. That means Rutuja got 76.85% of the total votes while Nota got 14.79%. The rest of the candidates managed to get only about one percent of votes each.
The by-election had to be held here due to the death of Rutuja Latke’s husband and Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke. As a mark of respect to Ramesh Latke, Eknath Shinde faction, Congress and NCP did not field a candidate. The BJP candidate was also withdrawn.
English Summary: Team Thackeray Wins Andheri Election, As Expected. Here’s The Surprise