Mumbai: Rubbing salt on the BJP’s wounds the NCP chief Ajit Pawar decided to field tainted leader Nawab Malik as the party’s official candidate from Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar. Malik filed his nomination .papers minutes before the deadline for nomination ended on Tuesday.
“I had decided to contest as an independent if I did not get AB form from my party. I filed papers at 2.55 pm as NCP candidate,” Malik said after filing his papers.
The development came days after city BJP president Ashish Shelar said his party is against Malik’s candidature. “We will not campaign for Malik,” Shelar said.
Malik, an MLA from Anushakti Nagar, has left that constituency to his daughter Sana, who is making her debut in electoral politics as NCP candidate.
Nawab Malik was a minister in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government and was arrested in 2022 in a case first registered by the NIA against Dawood and his associates including Chhota Shakeel and Tigar Memon.
Malik was granted bail on medical grounds in July this year. After the NCP split, the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar took the MLA into its fold, despite objections from ally BJP.
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