BJP Criticised Nawab Malik's Candidature Again. Why Ajit Pawar Backed Him

"The BJP's stance is very clear. All the parties in the alliance should decide their own candidate," said the party's Maharashtra unit chief Ashish Shelar.

The BJP today issued a scathing criticism of the candidature of Nawab Malik, one of the key leaders of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, who was backed by the party at the last minute for the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar seat in the coming assembly election in Maharashtra. Mr Malik, accused in an alleged money laundering case involving mafia don Dawood Ibrahim and his associates Chhota Shakeel and Tigar Memon, had filed two nominations. One of these was as a member of the NCP and the other as an Independent. But after the party backing, he called himself the official candidate.

"The BJP's stance is very clear. All the parties in the alliance should decide their own candidate," said the party's Maharashtra unit chief Ashish Shelar.  

"The issue is only about Nawab Malik's official candidature from NCP. Devendra Fadnavis has time and again clarified the stance of the party, I say it again: The BJP will not campaign for Nawab Malik. There is no question of us campaigning for him, because we won't endorse anyone who's related to any Dawood or Dawood related case," he added, underscoring the reservations they expressed earlier as well.