Slain NCP leader Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan will take on Aaditya Thackeray’s cousin Varun Sardesai in this Mumbai suburb; it will be the sitting MLA’s first election without his father, while for the debutant Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, it will mark a transition from the university polls to Assembly election
The Bandra East constituency in Mumbai is set for an intriguing contest in the coming Assembly election in Maharashtra, with the the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party fielding MLA Zeeshan Siddique against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Varun Sardesai.
It is the first election for Mr. Zeeshan, 32, after his father and former Minister Baba Siddique was shot dead on October 12. For Mr. Sardesai, 31, cousin of former Minister Aaditya Thackeray, this marks an opportunity to move on from university elections to a bigger stage.
Dynamics in suburb
A western Mumbai suburb, Bandra East is known for the Bandra-Kurla Complex, a high-end business hub; government housing colonies; and slums. Over the years, Bandra was identified as a Congress stronghold. Of the 10 election held till 2008, the Congress won eight.
Bandra East was established as a separate Assembly segment following delimitation in 2008. The
Shiv Sena held control over it till 2014. In 2019, Mr. Zeeshan (then with the Congress) won the seat by a margin of 5,790 votes over Vishwanath Mahadeshwar of the undivided Shiv Sena.
However, earlier this year, the Congress suspended Mr. Zeeshan for allegedly cross-voting in the Maharashtra Legislative Council election. He then joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Mr. Zeeshan had dismissed the allegations of cross-voting, saying, “How I can vote nine times to ensure the defeat of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) MLC candidates?”
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Zeeshan said, “I was a newbie during my first term, but now I have learnt a lot of things after serving people for five years. I will definitely win with a huge margin as the people of Bandra have seen me working on their issues of housing and water, and during the pandemic. In the process, my family had to sacrifice a lot.”
The NCP is also banking on the sympathy votes that Mr. Zeeshan may get owing to his father’s death.
An emerging face in the Shiv Sena (UBT), Mr. Sardesai is known for his poll strategy. He campaigned extensively for his party candidates during the Lok Sabha election. He also played an important role in the Mumbai University senate election, where the Shiv Sena (UBT) won all 10
seats. “He is committed to the idea of bringing in new perspectives. He has been working in Bandra East for some time now and the strategy is clear: fighting for the core issues of the people,” Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said.
In the Lok Sabha election, Bandra East had given a substantial lead of 27,480 votes to sitting Mumbai North Central MP Varsha Gaikwad of the Congress against the BJP candidate, Ujjwal Nikam.
Pressing issues
Bandra East has a sizeable population of Muslim, Dalit, and middle-class Marathi families.
The pressing issues in the Assembly segment are sanitation, housing, and water. Residents of slum pockets in Bandra East are fighting for land rights, housing rights, and against illegal demolition. For instance, over 5,000 families in Bharat Nagar are demanding redevelopment under the State housing authority, Mhada, and not under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority’s redevelopment scheme.
The 288-member Maharashtra Assembly will vote on November 20. The results will be announced on November 23.