Sena, Cong facing tough times in Mumbai North West

The Mumbai North West Parliamentary constituency is expected to pose stiff challenge for both the Shiv Sena and the Congress as both will have to contain the erosion of their traditional votebanks to the MNS and the Samajwadi Party.  

While MNS candidate Shalini Thackeray is causing tension to Sena's Gajanan Kirtikar for the polls on April 30, SP contender and its state President Abu Asim Azmi is expected to make the going tough for Congress nominee Gurudas Kamat, the sitting MP from Mumbai North East who had to change his constituency post-delimitation.    

The MNS may eat into Sena's traditional Maharashtrian votes while Azmi can grab a chunk of non-Maharashtrian and minority votes, denting the prospects of the Congress.   

Mumbai North West, created out of portions of erstwhile Mumbai North and Mumbai North West constituencies, comprises six assembly seats having 15, 93,514 voters. The constituency is home to many slums and middle-class localities as well as the industrial belt in Andheri East.   

Sena's Kirtikar was the first to hit the campaign trail even when the Congress was in a dilemma on whom to field as Mumbai party President Kripashankar Singh, industrialist Vijay Kalantri, actress Nagma and Sanjay Nirupam were interested to fight from this constituency.