In a bid to prevent the Shiv Sena (UBT) from gaining the upper hand in the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency’s Muslim-dominated area, Mumbra, a group of NCP (Ajit Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leaders have allegedly been promoting the NOTA (None of the above) option for the past month. More than two lakh Mumbra residents belong to the minority community, which has largely warmed up to Uddhav Thackeray, posing a threat to the Mahayuti.

According to sources, leaders promoting NOTA claimed that the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Vaishali Darekar was a member of the Sena faction responsible for demolishing the Babri Masjid and supporting such a candidate was not right. However, meetings were held at mosques across Mumbra to create awareness among the masses about the importance of choosing candidates who are with the community and whose primary concerns are inflation and employment.