Andheri assembly bypoll: BJP withdrew as it sensed defeat of its nominee, says Sanjay Raut
Mumbai, Oct 17: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled out its nominee from the Andheri (East) Assembly bypoll fray realising that he would lose against the candidate of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, party MP Sanjay Raut said on Monday.
Raut, an accused in the Patra chawl redevelopment case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, spoke to some reporters and his supporters on the premises of the special court.
The Shiv Sena MP was produced before special judge M G Deshpande on the expiry of his judicial custody which was extended till Tuesday.
After attending his bail hearing, Raut met with his supporters and family members on the court premises.
Initially, he was reluctant to talk to reporters saying he was not allowed to speak as he is 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. This is the reason they decided to withdraw," claimed Raut when asked about the BJP's decision.
Queried on Maharashtra Navirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray writing a letter to Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday asking him not to field the candidate, Raut replied "this is all scripted."
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said his party has decided not to contest the Andheri East bypoll.
"The BJP had previously also not contested some of the bypolls," he said while asserting that Murji Patel would have won.
Patel, who withdrew his nomination papers on Monday, was pitted against Rutuja Latke, the wife of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke whose death in May this year necessitated the bypoll, scheduled on November 3.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
