<p>Much on expected lines, Rutuja Latke of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) won the by-elections from the Andheri East seat of Mumbai but the larger number of 'None of the Above' (NOTA) votes came as a surprise, and is also suspected to be a conspiracy.</p>.<p>In the run-up to the polls, the Uddhav Thackeray group of Shiv Sena alleged that people are being asked to press the NOTA button.</p>.<p>Rutuja, who contested under the banner of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and the ‘<em>mashaal</em>’ (burning torch) symbol, got over 65,000 votes, while NOTA votes were over 12,000. Shiv Sena’s Maha Vikas Aghadi partners NCP and Congress have congratulated Rutuja.</p>.<p>This was the first election in Maharashtra after the split of the Shiv Sena founded by late Balasaheb Thackeray 56 years ago. A total of seven candidates were in fray.</p>.<p>The elections to this seat of Mumbai have been necessitated following the death of two-time Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, who passed away following a heart attack on May 11 while he was on a trip to Dubai. </p>.<p>The Thackeray group had fielded Rutuja, the wife of the late MLA.</p>.<p>The BJP withdrew its candidates after senior leaders including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and MNS President Raj Thackeray had urged the party in line with traditions of Maharashtra politics — where mainstream parties do not field candidates if any family member of the deceased MLA or MP is contesting the polls.</p>
<p>Much on expected lines, Rutuja Latke of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) won the by-elections from the Andheri East seat of Mumbai but the larger number of 'None of the Above' (NOTA) votes came as a surprise, and is also suspected to be a conspiracy.</p>.<p>In the run-up to the polls, the Uddhav Thackeray group of Shiv Sena alleged that people are being asked to press the NOTA button.</p>.<p>Rutuja, who contested under the banner of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and the ‘<em>mashaal</em>’ (burning torch) symbol, got over 65,000 votes, while NOTA votes were over 12,000. Shiv Sena’s Maha Vikas Aghadi partners NCP and Congress have congratulated Rutuja.</p>.<p>This was the first election in Maharashtra after the split of the Shiv Sena founded by late Balasaheb Thackeray 56 years ago. A total of seven candidates were in fray.</p>.<p>The elections to this seat of Mumbai have been necessitated following the death of two-time Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke, who passed away following a heart attack on May 11 while he was on a trip to Dubai. </p>.<p>The Thackeray group had fielded Rutuja, the wife of the late MLA.</p>.<p>The BJP withdrew its candidates after senior leaders including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and MNS President Raj Thackeray had urged the party in line with traditions of Maharashtra politics — where mainstream parties do not field candidates if any family member of the deceased MLA or MP is contesting the polls.</p>