The Free Press Journal

AIMIM candidate to support AAP, backs out

- STAFF REPORTER /

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is slated to contest its firstever election on the turf of Maharashtr­a. In the upcoming polls, the party will be contesting from 24 seats. Among all the other seats, it appears the party has a ripe chance of winning the Mumbra-Kalwa seat of Thane district.

AAP has fielded social worker-turned-politician Dr Abu Altamash Faizi from the constituen­cy.

In a recent turn of events,

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate Barkatulla Shaikh had withdrew his nomination to support Faizi.

“The election from Mumbra is no more a political battle, it’s people’s battle against failed governance,” stated Dhananjay Shinde, secretary and spokespers­on of AAP. Shinde stated the people of Mumbra agitated against sitting NCP MLA Jitender Ahwad.

“In the last five years there has been a rise in problems of drugs, accidents due to poor road conditions and lodging of fake complaints against the local Muslim voters,” added Shinde.

Sources from AIMIM stated, the area of Mumbra has a significan­t Muslim population thus to avoid a political rift between Faizi and Shaikh, one of them decided to back off and support the other.

Faizi a popular face in the Mumbra-Kalwa aims to reform the health and education infrastruc­ture in his constituen­cy. An alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Faizi earlier served as the head of Kashmir division for the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM).

Last week a video appeared on social media which showed the lack of spectators at the campaign rally of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The caption of the video read it was a glimpse of the Mahajanade­sh Yatra held at Thane.

This incident had boosted confidence of AAP and AIMIM cadres thus they are expecting a win.

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