top of page

By:

Naresh Kamath

5 November 2024 at 5:30:38 am

Battle royale at Prabhadevi-Mahim belt

Amidst cut-throat competition, five seats up for grabs Mumbai: South Central Mumbai’s Prabhadevi-Mahim belt, an epicentre of Mumbai’s politics, promises a cut-throat competition as the two combines – Mahayuti and the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) combine – sweat it out in the upcoming BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. It is the same ward where Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray used to address mammoth rallies at Shivaji Park and also the residence of MNS chief...

Battle royale at Prabhadevi-Mahim belt

Amidst cut-throat competition, five seats up for grabs Mumbai: South Central Mumbai’s Prabhadevi-Mahim belt, an epicentre of Mumbai’s politics, promises a cut-throat competition as the two combines – Mahayuti and the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) combine – sweat it out in the upcoming BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. It is the same ward where Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray used to address mammoth rallies at Shivaji Park and also the residence of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. This belt has five wards and boasts of famous landmarks like the Siddhivinayak temple, Mahim Dargah and Mahim Church, and Chaityabhoomi, along with the Sena Bhavan, the headquarters of Shiv Sena (UBT) combine. This belt is dominated by the Maharashtrians, and hence the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS has been vocal about upholding the Marathi pride. This narrative is being challenged by Shiv Sena (Shinde) leader Sada Sarvankar, who is at the front. In fact, Sada has fielded both his children Samadhan and Priya, from two of these five wards. Take the case of Ward number 192, where the MNS has fielded Yeshwant Killedar, who was the first MNS candidate announced by its chief, Raj Thackeray. This announcement created a controversy as former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Priti Patankar overnight jumped to the Eknath Shinde camp and secured a ticket. This raised heckles among the existing Shiv Sena (Shinde) loyalists who raised objections. “We worked hard for the party for years, and here Priti has been thrust on us. My name was considered till the last moment, and overnight everything changed,” rued Kunal Wadekar, a Sada Sarvankar loyalist. ‘Dadar Neglected’ Killedar said that Dadar has been neglected for years. “The people in chawls don’t get proper water supply, and traffic is in doldrums,” said Killadar. Ward number 191 Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Vishaka Raut, former Mumbai mayor, is locked in a tough fight against Priya Sarvankar, who is fighting on the Shiv Sena (Shinde) ticket. Priya’s brother Samadhan is fighting for his second term from neighbouring ward 194 against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Nishikant Shinde. Nishikant is the brother of legislator Sunil Shinde, a popular figure in this belt who vacated his Worli seat to accommodate Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray. Sada Sarvankar exudes confidence that both his children will be victorious. “Samadhan has served the people with all his dedication so much that he put his life at stake during the Covid-19 epidemic,” said Sada. “Priya has worked very hard for years and has secured this seat on merit. She will win, as people want a fresh face who will redress their grievances, as Vishaka Raut has been ineffective,” he added. He says the Mahayuti will Ward number 190 is the only ward where the BJP was the winner last term (2017) in this area, and the party has once nominated its candidate, Sheetal Gambhir Desai. Sheetal is being challenged by Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Vaishali Patankar. Sheetal vouches for the BJP, saying it’s time to replace the Shiv Sena (UBT) from the BMC. “They did nothing in the last 25 years, and people should now give a chance to the BJP,” said Sheetal. Incidentally, Sheetal is the daughter of Suresh Gambhir, a hardcore Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray loyalist, who has been a Mahim legislator for 4 terms and even won the 1985 BMC with the highest margin in Mumbai. In the neighbouring ward number 182, Shiv Sena (UBT) has given a ticket to former mayor and veteran corporator Milind Vaidya. He is being challenged by BJP candidate Rajan Parkar. Like the rest of Mumbai, this belt is also plagued by inadequate infrastructure to support the large-scale redevelopment projects. The traffic is in the doldrums, especially due to the closure of the Elphinstone bridge. There are thousands of old buildings and chawls which are in an extremely dilapidated state. The belt is significant, as top leaders like Manohar Joshi, Diwakar Raote and Suresh Gambhir have dominated local politics for years. In fact, Shiv Sena party’s first Chief Minister, Manohar Joshi, hailed from this belt.

Knives out in legislature

Updated: Mar 21, 2025

Disha Salian

Mumbai: Death of celebrity manager Disha Salian in 2020 once again rocked the Maharashtra legislature on Thursday. While cabinet ministers Nitesh Rane and Shambhuraj Desai demanded that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray be arrested in the case, BJP MLA Amit Satam in the assembly and another BJP member Chitra Wagh in the council demanded that the report of SIT to probe Salian’s death be made public.


Incidentally, amidst repeated disruptions in both the houses, some members from the treasury benches were seen speaking in favour of Aditya Thackeray, while Shiv Sena (UBT) members like Adv Anil Parab were seen supporting the BJP members’ demand that the report of the SIT probe be made public. In addition, there were allegations and counter allegations and personal accusations among members from the treasury and opposition benches which led to heated debate on occasions.


The opposition termed the attempts from the treasury benches to link Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s name in the case, as a ‘conspiracy’.


“I think this matter has gone to the court. We have no idea what he (Disha’s father) has said, but Aaditya Thackeray is a mature leader, a young leader. The Bharatiya Janata Party is conspiring to defame him by putting pressure on him. We don’t need to answer to this conspiracy. The court will answer,” Ambadas Danve said.


Earlier in the day, when the house gathered for the business, Minister of State for Home appraised the assembly of the status in this case. “SIT has been formed to probe in the case. Their report has not been received as yet. However, the government shall act according to directives from the court,” the minister told the house.


Another BJP minister Nitesh Rane, however, said that since Satish Salian has levelled allegations against an MVA minister, that leader be treated like a common person and that everybody should be treated equally before the law. Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai too supported the demand. “Since the allegations are grave, the person in question should be immediately arrested and the case be investigated,” he said.


Later, while speaking to media in the legislature premises, Rane asked Uddhav Thackeray to come clean on the issue. “If they say that we are politicizing the issue, Uddhav Thackeray should also tell the people why he had called, not just once but twice, to the then union minister Narayan Rane urging him to save his son?” Rane said.


He also accused the opposition of shying away from coming clean on the issue. “If they feel that we are not telling the truth, they should say so in the house. But they are shying away from doing so. Bhaskar Jadhav, who is always aggressive, was nowhere to be seen when this issue came up in the house. Sunil Prabhu too escaped the house under the pretext of a phone call. I challenge them to say that whatever I said on the issue is wrong,” Rane said.


He also said that Aditya Thackeray should resign on moral grounds till his name is cleared in the case.


BJP MLA Amit Satam demanded that the details of the SIT probe be made public so that the people would know if the probe is headed in right direction.


Interestingly, while the ruling parties were targeting the opposition in the case, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar surprised all with his unexpected support to Thackerays. “I do not have any evidences in the case. But if her father has made any fresh allegations that needs to be investigated thoroughly. The assembly can discuss the issue at length tomorrow. In the meanwhile, members like Rane, who seem to have some evidences in the case should hand them over to the investigating agencies and help the probe,” he told the house.


Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Gaikwad and Sheetal Mhatre too toed the line and demanded that more and more evidences should come forth.


Similarly, when members of treasury benches were pushing for revealing the details of the probe till date to the public, Shiv Sena (UBT) member Anil Parab supported the demand. “Doing that shall conclusively prove the innocence of Aditya Thackeray,” he said.

Comments

bottom of page