Maharashtra assembly elections: Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi won Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency by a margin of 12,753 votes and logged a total of 54,780 votes, as per Election Commission data.
Controversial Congress leader Nawab Malik struggled to make a mark this time despite Ajit Pawar's backing and stood fourth in the tally with 15,501 votes. Atiquee Ahmad Khan of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen logged 42,027 votes. Meanwhile, Suresh Patel of Shiv Sena, a Mahayuti alliance member alongside NCP, occupied the third place with 35,263 votes.
Notably, daughter of former MLA Nawab Malik, Sana Malik, is leading by 3,378 votes in Maharashtra's Anushakti Nagar assembly seat. She has logged 49,341 votes so far, while NCP (SCP) candidate Fahad Ahmad is trailing with 45,963 votes.
According to the latest trends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is driving the charge in Maharashtra and is leading in 131 seats, taking the Mahayuti alliance lead to 229 seats. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena follows closely with lead in 39 seats and emerged victorious in 15.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, is leading in 27 seats and has won 14, while the Rashtriya Yuva Swabhiman Party (RSHYVSWBHM) is leading in one seat. Meanwhile, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is trailing, with a lead in 54 seats.
The Indian National Congress (INC), part of the MVA, is leading in 14 seats and has won three. It is important to note that the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) is currently leading in 18 seats and won 3, and the Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) is leading in 6 seats and has already won 4 seats. Additionally, the Samajwadi Party (SP) is leading in one and has won one seat.
The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is leading in one seat. Both Jan Surajya Shakti (JSS), and Peasants And Workers Party of India (PWPI) are leading in two seats each.
As the results trickle in, it is important to note that NCP's Mahayuti's alliance partners, the BJP and the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), had expressed their opposition to Nawab Malik's candidature. However, the NCP chief and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, had defended his decision to offer a ticket to Nawab Malik, who was arrested in 2022 in connection with alleged Dawood Ibrahim links.