Mumbai: Samajwadi Party Maharashtra Chief and three-times MLA from the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat, Abu Asim Azmi has clinched the seat in close contest against AIMIM candidate Ateeque Ahmad Khan. Abu Asim Azmi was contesting for his fourth term from the Mankhurd seat, however, the anti-incumbency factor did not come into play and Azmi managed to win the seat with unexpectedly close margin of 12,753 votes.
Ateeque Ahmad Khan who contested the elections for the first from the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat on AIMIM ticket managed to give a tough fight to the stalwart in the constituency. However, a close contest was expected between NCP (AP) candidate Nawab Malik, who left his Anushakti Nagar seat for his daughter Sana Malik and contested against his once ally Abu Asim Azmi.
The election results for the 288 assembly seats which went for voting in single phase on Wednesday, November 20 was announced on Saturday, November 23. Samajwadi Party’s Abu Asim Azmi managed to get 54,780 votes and Ateeque Ahmad Khan got 42,027 votes. Nawab Malik stood in the fourth place behind Suresh (Bullet) Patil with only 15,501 votes. Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde candidate Suresh (Bullet) Patil got 35,263 votes.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced that it will not support Nawab Malik in the elections over his alleged relations with gangster Dawood Ebrahim, for which the BJP claims that it has evidence. They were supporting another MahaYuti candidate Suresh (Bullet) Patil from the seat.
BJP-led MahaYuti alliance has scripted history in the state with thumping majority. The MahaYuti alliance is leading on 234 seats, while the MVA is leading on only 48 seats. They are not even able to reach the number of seats on which Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) faction is leading alone on. Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction is leading on 57 seats, while the BJP is leading on 133 seats and NCP (AP) is leading on 41 seats.
From the total of MVA’s 48 seats, Congress is leading on 15 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) is leading on 20 seats, while NCP (SP) is leading on 10 seats.
The MahaYuti has announced that Maharashtra will get a new chief minister by November 26. There are speculations that Devendra Fadnavis may become the new chief minister of the state owing to the spectacular performance of the saffron party in the state.
