30 Seats Could Be Enough For Mumbai Mayor: NCP’s Malik

Mumbai: Senior NCP leader Nawab Malik on Friday claimed that his party could emerge as a kingmaker in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, predicting the possibility of a hung House. Malik, who is overseeing the Nationalist Congress Party’s BMC campaign, expressed confidence that the party would cross the 14-seat mark and accused Returning Officers (ROs) of acting under pressure while rejecting objections raised by NCP candidates in at least three wards.

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP is contesting 94 seats in the BMC polls independently after its alliance partner, the BJP, opted not to contest the civic elections jointly. The BJP had reportedly expressed reservations over Malik’s role, as he is facing allegations related to money laundering and alleged links with designated terrorist Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parker.

Breaking his silence after nearly three-and-a-half years, Malik spoke to reporters for the first time since going off the public radar. Malik, who is also the chairman of the NCP’s Mumbai Election Management Committee, said that electoral arithmetic in Mumbai was changing. “If someone can become Chief Minister in Jharkhand with just one seat, then the NCP can certainly have a Mayor in Mumbai even with 30 seats,” he remarked.

The NCP leader said that since 2002, when the undivided NCP began contesting elections in Mumbai, a perception had been created that the party could not go beyond 14 seats. “This time, a completely different picture will emerge,” Malik asserted, adding that the party’s organisational strength would be clearly visible in these elections.

Referring to the decision to go solo, Malik said that Ajit Pawar stood firmly by him amid pressure from alliance partners. “Some leaders were openly saying they would not form an alliance if Nawab Malik was involved. But Ajit Pawar took a clear stand that there was no need for an alliance and that the party should contest independently,” he said, without naming BJP leaders. He described the decision to contest alone as the “right call”.

Malik said the NCP has fielded 94 candidates, including 14 from the North Indian community. The BMC election, he noted, has turned into a multi-cornered contest, with the BJP–Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance on one side; the Shiv Sena (UBT)–Sharad Pawar-led NCP–MNS combine on another; the Congress–Vanchit alliance; and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP contesting independently.

Raising serious concerns over the nomination scrutiny process, Malik alleged that ROs were arbitrarily rejecting nominations of NCP candidates while clearing ineligible candidates, sometimes as late as 10.30 p.m. “It is the duty of the RO to strictly follow the law and prescribed rules, but these are being ignored,” he alleged.

Citing specific cases, Malik said that in Ward No. 151, NCP candidate Vandana Sabale objected to the nomination of a BJP candidate in a reserved ward for failing to submit a valid caste certificate. “The certificate later produced was from Rajasthan, not Maharashtra. Despite this, the nomination was accepted on the basis of an affidavit submitted at 8.30 p.m., which is illegal,” he claimed.

In Ward No. 119, Malik alleged that the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena candidate, Rajesh Sonawane, was a municipal vendor and therefore ineligible to contest. “We submitted documentary evidence, including proof of payments credited to his account just four days ago, yet the nomination was cleared,” he said. Similar objections have been raised by the NCP in Ward No. 87, he added.

Malik said the party would approach the State Election Commission with a formal complaint over the alleged irregularities.