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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.

The wounded fighter

Updated: Jan 6, 2025

Eknath Shinde is waiting for the right opportunity to strike back

Eknath Shinde

Mumbai: A month after being sworn-in as a Deputy Chief Minister, ruling Mahayuti ally Eknath Shinde seems to have emerged from his sullen mood and is seen all smiles, despite the perceived ‘demotion’ from the top post, where Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis extracted his sweet revenge.

 

As the Mahayuti settles down to govern for the next 59 months, the SS appears gung-ho, having bagged quite a few critical ministries.

 

Shinde, who had to compromise on the coveted Home Ministry, is apparently at home with a bouquet comprising Urban Development, Housing, Water, Public Health, School Education, Industry, plus other key departments for his party after tough bargaining with the Big Brother, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

 

Party sources said that though he could not return as CM, he bounced back as the No. 2 in the Cabinet and is now going all-out to prove his utility – and probably trump the other ally, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

 

The first battle won, Shinde has trained guns on securing other influential positions at various levels – like state corporations, SEOs, and other posts – to keep his men in good stead in the coming years.

 

Not known to brag on his achievements, the SS chief and his team are quietly handling his portfolios which give them full control over the entire state’s urban set-up, housing sector, health, education, etc., which concern and are directly linked to the masses.

 

In turn, this is expected to reap rich dividends in the upcoming civic bodies elections where the Shinde-led party hopes to overtake or even edge out the Opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, particularly the Shiv Sena (UBT) headed by ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray.

 

On the MVA soothsayers predicting that the BJP would deploy old tricks to undermine or decimate regional allies, SS leaders claim that on the contrary, the alliance with the BJP has proved to be mutually beneficial for the Mahayuti partners.

 

However, the rumour-mills got a boost with the ongoing overtures by the SS (UBT) vis-à-vis Fadnavis – first Thackeray dropping in to meet the CM in Nagpur, then a sobered Sanjay Raut penning a fawning edit, several leaders lavishing praises, that was not lost on the MVA.

 

Raising doubts in various quarters whether the SS (UBT) was being prepared as a potential Team B to help out in any eventuality at the Centre, in case of a mood-swing by the mercurial NDA ally, Janata Dal (U) President and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.

 

However, a reluctant Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Krishna Hegde dismissed all Opposition conjectures on his party, the Mahayuti and the JD(U), reiterating that all are firmly united behind the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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