MUMBAI: The Lok Sabha contests in the city are likely to be very tough this time due to a spirited offence the city unit of the Congress has mounted.
While the saffron alliance — running the city for over 25 years — is banking on a surge in urban transport infrastructure and a host of Union and state government schemes for the urban population, the principal Opposition is taking a lead pointing out lacunae in the development narrative of the ruling coalition.
The city has also seen a division of voters along linguistic or regional lines. But the development narrative appears to dominate the poll discourse.
“Development is visible and most importantly, its pace can be easily sensed. This is the most favourable factor for the BJP-Shiv Sena across the MMR [Mumbai Metropolitan Region],” said Pankaj Salve, a first generation entrepreneur in his forties from Kurla in the Mumbai South Central constituency where Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shevale is contesting former Congress MP Eknath Gaikwad.
“I had been trying to develop an app for railway commuters. The response I received from railway officials post the change of government in 2014 was phenomenal. Though the app is yet to come, I’m convinced of their commitment and efforts,” he said while underlining the difference between the two regimes, which he says forms the key factor for his voting decision.
On the other hand, there are young professionals like Ramen D’Souza, Mahesh Patil, Varun Garg and others who have taken a break from their respective jobs and businesses to help the city Congress. “Why aren’t they ashamed?” is the tagline of several graphics, videos, and advertisement material developed by their team that highlights the shortcomings of the saffron rule.
“The top line and the downtrodden in the society sense the change immediately and change accordingly. This is the reason Ambani supported Murli Deora, while the deprived class of the society too has returned to us. The middle class resists it. We are trying to convince and convert this class with our appeal,” said Abhijit Sapkal, who heads the Congress’ social media front.
“The city voters shouldn’t forget days of deluge and bridge collapse. They shouldn’t forget traffic jams and delayed trains while voting,” he said.
The Mumbai South Central constituency spreads from Anishakti Nagar, that houses the country’s powerhouse of nuclear research – the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) — in the east to Mahim in the west. Six assembly segments make up this constituency of which, two — Dharavi and Wadala — are held by Congress.
In neighbouring Mumbai North East constituency, local BJP leader Hemant Bhaskar in Mankhurd area too repeats Sapkal, but in a different context.
“I’m handling the Mankhurd assembly segment. We have strived hard to get piped cooking gas, provide good drinking water and sanitation facilities over the last five years. Our campaign now is just to remind people,” he said while speaking in the slum surrounding the biggest abattoir and the biggest dumping ground of the city in Deonar.
The constituency has a tendency to alternate between the Congress and the BJP. Stalwarts like Subramanian Swamy, Jayawantiben Mehta and Pramod Mahajan have represented it in the past. The BJP this time chose its BMC house leader Manoj Kotak, instead of sitting MP Kirit Somaiya.
Gujarati votes in suburbs like Ghatkopar and Mulund help the BJP win this seat easily. This time, the Shiv Sena’s opposition to Somaiya had created a Gujrati-Marathi divide. Whether NCP’s Sanjay Dina Patil, who had represented this constituency in 2009, can benefit out of this linguistic divide, is yet to be seen.
Ramakant Yadav is in his early fifties and drives an auto rickshaw for a living. He stays at slums near Kurla court in Mumbai North Central constituency from where BJP MP Poonam Mahajan is pitted against Congress’s Priya Dutt-Roncon.
Yadav had voted for Mahajan in 2014 but is not ready to reveal his choice this time. He brands the Modi government as ‘pro-rich’ while citing the ongoing work on several Metro lines in the city and asks what the government has done for the poor.
The constituency comprises of western Mumbai suburbs like Vile-Parle. It always elected the Opposition candidate since the emergency, till 2004, when the Congress’ Eknath Gaikwad represented the seat in Parliament. Priya Dutt did so in 2009. However, the seat went to Poonam Mahajan in 2014 and now she feels confident of retaining it.
Five out of six Assembly segments are with the BJP-Sena alliance in the area that houses the residence of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as well as city BJP chief Ashish Shelar.
Former Congress minister Kripashankar Singh, who is developing closeness with the BJP, is a cause of worry for the party.