The Samajwadi Party's (SP) role in this election is turning out to be a little unclear. From fielding candidates from almost five constituencies in Mumbai, the party has now reduced itself to fielding only three. First, it withdrew North-West candidate Kamal R Khan from the race, citing his misdemeanours, including tweets, and then, withdrew North-East candidate Rais Shaikh.
These withdrawals have fuelled suspicion of deals between the party leadership in the state and various candidates of Congress and also with the Congress-NCP leadership. Congress leaders alleged that the SP is trying to play a role akin to MNS, cornering votes and playing a role in the victory of the opposition candidates selectively. An SP spokesperson denied the speculation of any underhand deals, but the fact remains that the party's withdrawals are surrounded in some mystery.
In Khan's case, the party withdrew him over his anti-women tweets. However, Khan was said to have informed SP leaders that the posts were old and made from a parody. Surprisingly, he himself had hardly stepped out to campaign in the North-West constituency, where he was fighting Congress candidate Gurudas Kamat and Sena candidate Gajanan Kirtikar, due to unknown reasons.
If this wasn't enough, the second candidate Urvashi Dholakia did not file her nomination in time. Similarly, Rais Shaikh withdrew his candidature from the North-East constituency citing his inability to win elections, including the fact that he is a first-time corporator.
SP spokesperson in the city Abdul Kadir Chaudhury said, "There maybe speculations that there is an underhand deal leading to these withdrawals. But that's not the case. We withdrew Shaikh's candidature after realising that with Medha Patkar in the race, it could have just led to a split in secular votes and indirectly helped BJP candidate Kirit Somaiya."
The party has fielded former corporator Kamlesh Yadav in Mumbai North despite Yadav not making an impact in the last Lok Sabha election. Yadav is bent up on defeating Nirupam due to his personal animosity with him after he was denied a chance to contest the BMC elections on a Congress ticket.
When asked about not fielding anyone from Mumbai South, SP state president Abu Asim Azmi claimed he did not have a strong candidate in the constituency. Azmi said he fielded a candidate from South-Central because he did not want Congress candidate Eknath Gaikwad to win, who, he alleged, isn't a secular candidate.
"We have to see where we have a vote bank. Also, the candidate needs to have financial strength. We have fielded candidates after taking into account these factors," he added.
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