Mumbai is going to be a most watched area in the coming Maharashtra Assembly elections as former cricketer Vinod Kambli and popular television host Aadesh Bandekar slug it out with a handful of other candidates for the October 13 showdown.
Bandekar, who joined the Shiv Sena less than a month ago, is facing Sada Sarvankar of the Congress and Nitin Sardesai of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), who is a confidant of Raj Thackeray, at the Mahim constituency in central Mumbai.
The constituency, earlier called Dadar, comprises areas like Mahim, Matunga Road, Dadar and Prabhadevi where the famed Siddhivinayak temple is situated.
Sarvankar, who was the sitting Sena MLA, switched sides to the Congress after he was denied a ticket and was immediately fielded as the Congress candidate.
Irate supporters of Sarvankar had staged demonstrations outside the house of senior leader Manohar Joshi because it was speculated that he was instrumental in getting the leadership to deny ticket to Sarvankar in favour of his supporter Milind Vaidya.
Ex-Sena leader and the current state Industries Minister Narayan Rane has thrown his weight behind Sarvankar and decided to pool all his energies in this constituency to ensure a major embarrassment for his erstwhile party.
Bandekar is the handpicked candidate of Rane’s foe and Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray. The Shiv Sena has scored over its rivals on glamour quotient by having Bandekar, who hosts the popular ‘Home Minister’ and ‘Hafta Bandh’ reality shows, Indian Idol contest winner Abhijit Sawant and actor-filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar.
Also Read
Water shortage, re-development of chawls and crumbling infrastructure are some issues facing the constituency.
Kambli is contesting on the Lok Bharti Party ticket from Vikhroli in suburban Mumbai. The party is a member of the Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF).
Vikhroli, situated in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai comprises middle-class localities, old MHADA colonies like Kannamwar Nagar and Tagore Nagar, and slum pockets situated on hillocks.
He is pitted against ex-Mayor Datta Dalvi of Shiv Sena, MNS corporator Mangesh Sangale and Pallavi Patil, wife of sitting Mumbai North-East MP Sanjay Patil of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
“It is an open and tough contest. All four candidates are good and anybody can win,” said a local NCP leader.
Kambli is depending upon his star appeal and Dalit background to woo the Dalit voters especially the youth, which form a sizeable chunk of voters.
He is focussing on a door-to-door campaign and is on ‘padyatras’ for six hours in the evenings. In the mornings, he meets important citizens and leaders in the constituencies to prepare his electoral strategies.
Vikhroli comprises all areas of Vikhroli east and west, including Kannamwar Nagar, Tagore Nagar, Surya Nagar, and a portion of Hiranandani Garden, near the Hiranandani hospital till the IIT-Bombay complex.
In the Lok Sabha polls, the Mahim Assembly segment stood by the Shiv Sena, while in all other five Assembly constituencies, the Congress’ Eknath Gaikwad established a comfortable lead over his Sena and MNS rivals.
Mahim saw a tough contest between the MNS, Congress and Shiv Sena. Sena took a sizeable lead of over 9000 votes over the Congress rival.