Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | NCP's Nawab Malik enters polls fray despite BJP's opposition

Mumbai: In what comes as an embarrassment for the BJP, veteran politician Nawab Malik, who is part of Ajit Pawar-led NCP, on Tuesday, filed nomination papers from the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Assembly constituency of Mumbai. 

Malik is pitted against Maharashtra’s Samajwadi Party President Abu Asim Azmi, who is a three-time sitting MLA.

Malik’s daughter Sana Malik has been given ticket by the NCP, which is part of ruling BJP-led Maha Yuti, from his traditional seat of Anushakti Nagar and she would take on Sharad Pawar-NCP (SP)’s Fahad Ahmed, the husband of actor-activist Swara Bhaskar. 

After staging a massive show of strength, Malik filed two nomination papers - one as an Independent candidate and another with the AB Form of NCP.

“I am very thankful to (Deputy Chief Minister and NCP President Ajit Pawar), (NCP Working President) Praful Patel and (NCP Maharashtra unit President) Sunil Tatkare. They have confidence in me...A huge number of voters will definitely support me...I am very confident that this time we will win Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency,” Malik said. 

The BJP, particularly Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai unit President Ashish Shelar, were against nominations to Malik because of the Enforcement Directorate case against him and alleged property dealings with people linked to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. 

“I am not aware about it…I will check it and our spokespersons will give appropriate responses,” said Fadnavis on the development.

It may be mentioned, Malik (65) was arrested on February 23, 2022 by the ED under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) - in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the activities of Pakistan-based underworld don and the mastermind of 1993 serial blasts Dawood Ibrahim.

According to the ED charges, Malik had brought the Goawala Building properly in Kurla. The power of attorney of the property was in the name of Sardar Shah Wali Khan, who is undergoing jail term in the 1993 blasts case, and Salim Patel, the frontman of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister late Hasina Parkar.

The ED case followed an FIR by the NIA in the Dawood Ibrahim-money laundering case. On August 11, 2023, the Supreme Court granted him bail on medical grounds and three days later, he was discharged from the hospital, where he was admitted.

Malik is currently on bail from the Supreme Court. 

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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