Mumbai, Andheri East Bypoll Result Live Updates: Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Rituja Latke arrives at the vote counting station in Andheri. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)Mumbai News Highlights, Andheri East Bypoll Result 2022, November 06, 2022: The counting of votes in the Andheri East Bypoll elections ended with Shiv Sena candidate Rutuja Latke emerging as the victorious candidate. Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray thanks the NCP, Congress and VBA for their support, but also hit out at the BJP for campaigning for NOTA votes. “Had the BJP contested these polls, the NOTA votes would have gone to them,” he said.
Who is Rutuja Latke, Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena candidate for Andheri East bypoll
Meanwhile, a special court earlier this week rejected pleas filed by two accused booked by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), alleged to be Bangladeshi citizens living in India on forged documents, stating that their pleas admitting guilt cannot be held voluntary, clear and unambiguous. Mohammed Rippen Hussain and Mohammed Hassan Ali Mohammed Amir Ali had said in their pleas that while they have been booked under sections where the maximum punishment is five years, they have already spent nearly four years in jail.
In other news, actors Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor welcomed a baby girl at the H N Reliance Hospital today. The actress underwent a C-section surgery. The couple tied the knot in April this year after being in a relationship for around five years.
With altered political equations in the state, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena appears to be gravitating towards the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a key factor to watch for ahead of the Mumbai civic polls where Marathi votes play a crucial role.
Ever since the fall of the government led by Raj Thackeray’s estranged cousin and arch-rival Uddhav Thackeray in June, the bonhomie between Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis has led to a buzz of new political alignments.
Shinde and Fadnavis met Raj Thackeray for MNS’ Deepotsav event in Shivaji Park on the eve of Diwali. The brewing chemistry was evident when the trio walked together to the venue in Shivaji Park from the residence of the MNS chief. Read more here
A video showed Jikky, a three-year-old labrador who is the youngest member of the Mumbai Customs' K9 squad, inspecting the courier terminal. Recently, the Mumbai unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) announced that it will soon have its own dedicated narcotics detection dogs to sniff out drug couriers.
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a moral high ground while announcing the withdrawal of its candidate from Andheri (East) assembly bypoll claiming it was in accordance with Maharashtra political culture of not contesting against the kin of deceased MLA, the party in the past has chosen to fight byelections against the relatives of late MLAs.
Read the full story here
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the result of the byelection to the Andheri (East) constituency showed that people rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's "politics of horse-trading and terrorising political opponents".
Patole expressed confidence that the Congress and its allies would defeat the BJP in the coming elections. He said the Andheri (East) bypoll result shows that people don't trust the 'ED' (Eknath Shinde- Devendra Fadnavis) government. (PTI)
Even as Rutuja Latke said no celebrations of her Andheri East bypoll victory will be held, visuals showed supporters gathering to welcome the poll results.
The Mumbai Traffic police on Friday issued an order providing alternate routes to motorists in the wake of the Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge in Andheri being shut from November 7 until further instructions for any vehicular movement and pedestrians.
A portion of the bridge had collapsed in 2018, killing two people and injuring three others.
Here are the alternate routes
While congratulating Rutuja Latke on her win in the Andheri East bypoll, BJP Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar said the victory comes with "BJP's help".
"The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) did not mobilise more votes. Had BJP contested the by-elections, Shiv Sena candidate would have lost. So, Shiv Sena (UBT) should realise Rutuja Latke's win is with the help of BJP," he said.
The Andheri East assembly constituency was formed in the year 2009 after delimitation in the year 2008.
In the 2009 Assembly elections, Suresh Shetty of Congress had won the seat by consolidating a total of 55,990 votes and defeating Ramesh Latke who had got the 50,837 votes.
In the next Assembly elections of 2014, Shiv Sena's Latke contested the elections and won by consolidating a total of 52,692 votes and by defeating Suresh Shetty of Congress and Sunil Yadav of BJP. In 2019, Latke again won the elections by defeating Patel who rebelled from BJP and contested as an independent candidate as the BJP. Sena contested the assembly election in alliance then.
Andheri East bypoll winner Rutuja Latke dedicated her victory to her late husband and the development works he did in the constituenct during his tenure as MLA.
She said, "I thank everyone for supporting me. The turnout in the by-elections was low. This is the result of sympathy and hard work of my husband. My husband made a promise. I will try to complete it."
"If BJP had any sympathy, they would not have filled the form earlier. Votes met by NOTA belong to BJP. A survey was conducted before the elction and they knew that they were losing hence they withdrew the nomination of their candidate," Latke said.
She also mentioned that there will be no kind of celebrations of vistory in Andheri East bypolls.
Rutuja Latke, the candidate of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), on Sunday won the bypoll to Andheri (East) Assembly seat in Mumbai by bagging more than 66,000 votes, followed by 12,806 votes polled in favour of the None Of The Above (NOTA) option, an official said.
Latke got 66,530 votes out of the total 86,570 votes.
The NOTA gives an option to electors not to vote in favour of any of the candidates in an election.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said the victory of Rutuja Latke in the Andheri (East) Assembly bypoll shows people are supporting Shiv Sena.
'This is just the beginning of a fight. The (party) symbol is important but people look for the character too. The bypoll results show people support us,' Thackeray told reporters after Rutuja Latke called on him at his residence 'Matoshree' after the victory.
'This victory is a beginning of a fight. I appeal to Shiv Sainiks to fight unitedly for all future battles. Our party's name and symbol were frozen for this election but those who wanted this are nowhere near the electoral ring,' Thackeray said.
With altered political equations in the state, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena appears to be gravitating towards the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a key factor to watch for ahead of the Mumbai civic polls where Marathi votes play a crucial role.
Ever since the fall of the government led by Raj Thackeray's estranged cousin and arch-rival Uddhav Thackeray in June, the bonhomie between Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis has led to a buzz of new political alignments.
Shinde and Fadnavis met Raj Thackeray for MNS' Deepotsav event in Shivaji Park on the eve of Diwali. The brewing chemistry was evident when the trio walked together to the venue in Shivaji Park from the residence of the MNS chief.
Last month, Raj Thackeray had written a letter to Fadnavis, urging him to withdraw BJP's candidate from the Andheri East Assembly bypoll in favour of late Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke's wife. The BJP later withdrew its candidate from the race, for which Raj Thackeray thanked Fadnavis. (PTI)
As many as 200 officials were involved in the counting process which commenced at 8 am, and saw 19 rounds of counting.
The Mumbai Police also deputed 300 personnel to maintain law and order.
Voting for the by-election, necessitated due to the death of sitting Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May this year, was held on November 3 and witnessed a low voter turnout of 31.74 percent.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, both constituents of the MVA, have supported Rutuja Latke's candidature.
While Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met the party's Andheri East bypoll candidate Rutuja Latke after her victory, workers celebrated the results of the first political showdown between the Uddhav Sena and Shinde Sena since the party split.
Earlier this week, the Mercedes Benz company had submitted to the Palghar Police a technical analysis report based on the scrutiny of the Event Data Recorder of the damaged vehicle, which helped the police in ascertaining that the vehicle was overspeeding when it crashed on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway on September 4, killing two, including Cyrus Mistry, former head of Tata Sons.
Sources in the Palghar Police said the report proved that Anahita Pandole, who was driving the car, was overspeeding and could not apply brakes in time to prevent the accident. Read more
Nationalist Congress Party MLC Amol Mitkari on Saturday said there was “some secret about the future” in the meeting that had taken place between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Friday.
“CM Eknath Shinde on Friday met our party chief in Breach Candy Hospital. And then the CM himself said that our party chief will be attending the Shirdi convention and then return to the hospital… there is some secret about the future in this meeting between the two leaders,” Mitkari told reporters in Shirdi. Read more
Rutuja Latke met Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray at his residence Matoshree in Bandra after her win in the Andheri East bypoll.
Thackeray congratulated her and thanked the NCP, Congress, Sambhaji Brigade and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, along with other parties, for showing their support. "They had taken away our party symbol and name citing this election, but I am glad we won with such a huge margin. I thank the Congress, NCP, Sambhaji Brigade and Vanchit Bahujan Agahadi, along with others, for supporting us in this election.," Uddhav said.
He added, "I am happy that the battle has started with a victory and we will win in the future as well."
While hitting out at BJP, Thackeray said, "It is clear that there was a use of NOTA in the elections. There was campaigning for NOTA. Had the BJP contested the election, the party would have got the votes as much votes NOTA has got."
Actors Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor welcomed a baby girl at Mumbai's Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital on Sunday.
"It's a girl. She arrived at the 7.30 am for the delivery. She (Alia) has been coming to the hospital regularly between 11 am-12 pm for the past few days," the a hospital insider sais PTI. Ranbir and Alia got married in April.
Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe said that victory is definite for Rutuja Latke. She added that BJP had to withdraw its official candidate Murji Patel because he was 'controversial' and was facing legal challenges. Gorhe said that there were possibilities of BJP transferring its vote share into NOTA.
Shiv Sena candidate Rutuja Latke led with 45278 votes at the end of the twelfth round of counting in the Andheri East bypoll. NOTA followed with a total of 8887 votes.
Rutuja Latke got a total of 4954 votes in the tenth round of the bypolls, followed by NOTA with a vote count of 919. The total votes till the tenth round for Latke and NOTA were 37469 and 7556, respectively.
The eight round of counting in the Andheri East bypoll elections revealed Rutuja Latke to have led with 4078 votes. A total 943 votes were in favor of NOTA.
In the 2019 assembly elections, 4303 votes were in favor of NOTA. This number is comparatively lesser than this year's record of 5655 votes till the eighth round.
Till the eighth round, the poll percentage of NOTA in Andheri east bypoll was 14.7 per cent.
Shiv Sena candidate Rutuja Latke got 3865 votes in the seventh round followed by NOTA with 374 votes. Votes in favor of NOTA surpassed the 2019 assembly elections.
Rutuja Latke garnered a total of 3812 votes in the sixth round of the Andheri East bypolls. A total of 28447 votes were counted so far. NOTA got a total of 479 votes in the sixth round of counting, the highest following Latke.
Shiv Sena's Rutuja Latke led with a total vote count of 2630 in the fifth round of the Andheri East Bypoll elections. 279 votes were in favor of NOTA in this round. The total votes counted so far were 23,771.
Shiv Sena candidate Rutuja Latke continued to lead the bypoll elections with 3287 votes, followed by NOTA with 613 votes. The Sena had alleged that the opposition including BJP and its allies had campaigned for NOTA.
Shiv Sena candidate Rutuja Latke led the third round of counting in the Andheri East bypoll elections. Latke got a total of 3544 votes followed by NOTA with 1497 votes.
Rutuja Latke led with a total of 3540 votes in the second round of the Andheri East bypolls. 848 votes were in favor of NOTA.
According to hospital sources, actors Alia Bhatt & Ranbir Kapoor have reached HN Reliance Hospital for delivery of the baby. The actress is expected to undergo C-section.
Rutuja Latke led the first round of voting with a total 4,277 votes. Bala Venkatesh Vinayak Nadar followed with a total of 222 votes. 622 votes were in favor of NOTA.
“The sea of love as I see it. Thank u all for being there and making this day ever so special..,” tweeted Shah Rukh Khan on his 57th birthday with a photograph of the “sea” of fans in the background of his residence Mannat.
A few hours after this photograph, it emerged – like it does on November 2 each year – the “sea” also included some thieves, who fled with at least 12 high-end cellphones of Khan’s fans. Read more here
With a total of 2,71,502 voters in the constituency, the voting for the bypoll took place on November 3. The polling percentage was 31.74 per cent that was far less compared to the previous elections in the constituency. In 2019, the voting percentage was 53.82 per cent ; 2014 at 53.45 per cent ; 2009 had a polling percentage of 49.70 per cent.
In the Andheri east bypoll, the counting of postal votes has ended. The Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) vote counting has begun. In total, there will be 19 rounds of counting.
Rutuja Latke is expected to win the Andheri assembly bypoll.
However the NOTA (none of the above) votes will be significant in the bypolls as the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had alleged that voters were being paid to choose the NOTA option and some parties had even campaigned for the NOTA.
Maintaining that the constricted mindset of the current rulers of Maharashtra and the Centre will not bring development, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that under the new government, there was lack of inclusivity at all levels. Read what Pawar said
A total of seven candidates, including the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction’s Rutuja Latke, are competing in the bypoll. Rituja Ramesh Latke (Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Bala Venkatesh Vinayak Nadar (Aapki Apni Party - People's), Manoj Nayak (Right to Recall Party), Neena Khedekar (Independent), Farhana Siraj Syed (Independent), Milind Kamble (Independent), Rajesh Tripathi (Independent) are the candidates.
The voting for the bypoll took place on November 3 with a total 31.74 percent polling that was far less compared to the previous elections.
Taking on Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that while the under construction memorial of late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray will have photos of all chief ministers belonging to the party, there will be no place for those “impersonating in the name of Sena”.
“Photos of all CMs from Shiv Sena will be there in the memorial but not of those who are impersonating… using the name of Shiv Sena,” Uddhav said at a press conference that was also attended by his son and Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray and former minister Subhash Desai. Read more...
The counting of votes began for the the Andheri East bypoll today. A total of seven candidates, including the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction’s Rutuja Latke, are in the fray.
The bypoll, which was necessitated after the sudden demise of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke in May this year, is significant for the Thackeray-led Sena as it is the first election after the split in the party following a rebellion spearheaded by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs.
The Palghar police, who on Saturday registered an FIR against Dr Anahita Pandole (55) for rash and negligent driving causing the death of Cyrus Mistry, former head of Tata Sons and Jehangir Pandole, Director for Global Strategy at KPMG, said all the sections against her are bailable and therefore she will not face any custody or jail until she gets convicted for the crime.
A senior Palghar police official, requesting anonymity, told The Indian Express, “The sections under which she (Anahita Pandole) has been booked are bailable. We will record her statement. In a case of causing death due to negligence, we arrest an accused and produce them before a magistrate court where the accused can be granted bail on the very same day. In such cases, even police custody is not given as usually there is nothing to be recovered from the accused.” Jayprakash S Naidu reports
Dr Anahita Pandole, one of Mumbai’s top gynaecologists, is the reason that the Parsis have a reason to save their dwindling population, a result of intra-marriage in the community. She is also equally involved in the preservation of natural habitats. Infact, she has knocked at Court’s door to raised voice against illegal hoardings in South Mumbai.
She gained nationwide recognition for the promotion and preservation of Parsi heritage by providing fertility treatments to them at subsidised rates. In January 2004, Dr Pandole, in collaboration with the Bombay Parsi Panchayet, started The Bombay Parsi Panchyet Fertility Project, which allowed them to have access to state-of-the-art medical facilities.
A close friend of Dr Anahita told The Indian Express that she is also associated with Jai Vakeel Foundation where she works for the children with intellectual disabilities. “She not only works for the Parsi community but also helps couples from other communities who can’t afford fertility treatment. She is extremely humane and always comes forward to help people in need.” Read more
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday assured that the state government would soon allot a tract of land in Mumbai's Bandra for a new complex of the Bombay High Court.
Shinde and Fadnavis were speaking at a felicitation programme for Chief Justice of India U U Lalit at the Raj Bhavan here. The CJI is set to retire on November 8.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Dipankar Datta were also present at the event.
"Our government is planning to bring transparency in the judiciary. We are taking decisions for the betterment of the judiciary. A tract of land at Bandra will soon be allotted for the new high court complex. It is a need of the state," Shinde said.
Speaking about the issue, Fadnavis said the land allotment for a new high court building was a long-pending concern of Chief Justice Datta, and assured that the same would be resolved soon.
"Our government has decided to boost the court infrastructure. A long-pending concern of our HC Chief Justice Dipankar Datta of allotting a plot for the new complex of the high court is almost resolved. All legal issues pertaining to the land in Bandra, Mumbai for the new complex (have been resolved). Soon a land parcel will be allotted," the deputy chief minister said.
The present high court building in south Mumbai was very old, he said.
Calling CJI Lalit "Maharashtra's son", Shinde praised several important decisions he had taken during his tenure to bring transparency to court proceedings, such as live-streaming of constitutional courts.
Fadnavis also appreciated the CJI's efforts during his short tenure to bring transparency to the Supreme Court's roster and hear more cases.
During his tenure of less than three months, CJI Lalit began live streaming of cases heard by the Constitution bench and also said that the top court would soon develop its own platform to host live telecast of proceedings.
CJI Lalit speaking at the event said he was proud to be a son of Maharashtra. (PTI)
At least 10 shops located on the Fashion Street, a roadside apparel market in south Mumbai, were gutted in a fire on Saturday afternoon, but nobody was injured in the incident, a civic official said.
The fire broke out in one of the shops on the Fashion Street near Churchgate around 1 pm, and soon spread to some of its adjoining stores, he said.
"After the fire brigade was alerted about the incident, six fire engines were rushed to the spot," the official said, adding that the blaze was extinguished in around 15 minutes. (PTI)
A couple from Mumbai central suburbs awaits reunion with their “adopted son”, now 11 years old, who was “rescued” by the police in 2019 after he stayed with the couple for seven years. The boy is one of the six children whom the police have claimed was trafficked by members of an alleged illegal adoption racket.
The couple’s plea, moved before the city civil court, seeking to legally adopt the boy, was not heard for the last few months as the court which was assigned the case was vacant. The plea, filed under the Guardians and Wards Act, is now likely to be heard on Saturday. Read more
A fire broke out in a parcel van of the Mumbai-bound Shalimar Express at Nashik Road station in Maharashtra on Saturday morning, but nobody was injured in the incident, railway officials said. The Shalimar-LTT train departed safely from Nasik Road Railway station at 11.57am.
A fire broke out in a parcel van of the Mumbai-bound Shalimar Express at Nashik Road station in Maharashtra on Saturday morning, but nobody was injured in the incident, railway officials said.
The blaze erupted around 8.45 am in the parcel van (coach) next to the engine of the train that runs between Shalimar (West Bengal) and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus station in Mumbai, they said. (PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address two rallies in Maharashtra - on November 10 and 18 - as part of his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' that will arrive in the state on Monday, a senior party leader said.The yatra that began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, is scheduled to reach Madnur Naka at Deglur in Maharashtra's Nanded district from neighbouring Telangana at 7 pm on November 7."Rahul Gandhi will address two rallies during the yatra in Maharashtra. He will address the first rally on November 10 in Nanded district, while the second one will be held on November 18 at Shegaon in Buldhana district," senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, who is the state coordinator for the yatra, said. (PTI)