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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.

Logjam over Mahayuti seat-sharing continues

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Sources indicate that BJP to get 157 seats whereas Shiv Sena to get 78 and NCP 55


Logjam over Mahayuti seat-sharing continues

Mumbai: Even as the date to state filing nominations for Assembly elections is approaching the seat sharing between the constituents of the Mahayuti is yet to be finalised.


Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who had stayed back for a few meetings in the national Capital after his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, told the media that all the coalition partners have reached a consensus over most of the assembly seats and issues related to only about a 30-35 seats remains to be resolved. He also expressed confidence that the issues will be resolved soon and that the Mahayuti shall win the state elections.


Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was at Nashik on Saturday after the late night meeting in Delhi with Shah, too said that everything is going smooth in the alliance. Pawar, after visiting the Tryambakeshwar temple in the morning, said that the CM and the two DCMs shall address a joint meeting soon to reveal the details of seat sharing pact.


According to sources, the BJP, that currently has 102 seating MLAs is likely to settle for 157 out of 288 seats. The NCP that has 39 MLAs is likely to settle for 55 seats and the Shiv Sena under CM Shinde is likely to get 78 seats even though they too have only 39 MLAs on their side in the present assembly. There are 13 independent MLAs in the current assembly while 15 seats are lying vacant.


All the parties in the alliance would get their seats where they have sitting MLAs. This means there is no difference of opinion over 180 seats. There are around 80 other seats where the alliance partners are on the second position. There are little differences over these seats also. Real tug of war is going on for the remaining lot of 28 seats, said a senior BJP leader. The issue is unlikely to resolve soon as it will primarily depend upon whom does the seat go to from the MVA side and whom does the MVA field.


Another leader said that the seat sharing in Mumbai has been settled and that the BJP is likely contest 17 or 18 of the 36 seats in the city leaving 15 for Shiv Sena and rest shall go to the NCP. The BJP wants to contest more seats in the state and hence other parties will be compensated with other political positions. That is the reason why it is taking a bit long to conclude the negotiations, the leader said.


“There are no problems. The talks were constructive and are in the final stages,” Shinde told reporters. “We have decided to move ahead with the task at hand. We want to bring the Mahayuti government to power once again and we are confident about it.”

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