Why Nawab Malik filed 2 nominations for Maharashtra Assembly elections
What's the story
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Tuesday filed two nomination forms for the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Assembly seat in Mumbai, leading to speculation about his political strategy.
However, he later clarified that he is the official candidate of NCP's Ajit Pawar faction.
"Today, I filed a nomination from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Vidhan Sabha constituency as NCP candidate. I also filed the form as an independent candidate," he said.
Party support
Malik expresses gratitude toward party leaders
Malik thanked Ajit Pawar and other party leaders for their faith in him.
"I am very thankful to Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare. They have confidence in me... A huge number of voters will support me... I am very confident we will win Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency this time," he said.
The Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat is currently occupied by Abu Azmi of the Samajwadi Party, who has been winning since 2009.
Internal opposition
Malik's candidacy faces opposition from within alliance
Malik's candidacy has faced opposition from within the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP (Ajit Pawar).
The BJP has expressed its opposition as Malik allegedly has links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar said, "We will not accept giving a ticket to someone linked to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim."
Legal history
Malik's past arrest and bail
Malik was earlier arrested in 2022 in the Ibrahim case and was granted bail on medical grounds in July 2024.
Despite ally BJP's objections, Ajit Pawar's faction of NCP chose to field Malik in the polls.
Apart from his own candidature, Malik's daughter Sana Malik is contesting from Anushakti Nagar as an NCP (Ajit Pawar) candidate against Sharad Pawar's NCP faction's Fahad Ahmed.