The first time the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena contested state elections five years ago, it won only 13 seats. However, it managed to deal a body blow to the party it had branched away from, the Shiv Sena: the MNS won the Dadar-Mahim seat, a pocket of central Mumbai dominated by Maharashtrians, and a stronghold of Sena founder Bal Thackeray since the early days of the party.
This time around, the October 15 Maharashtra assembly election will witness another clash between saffron parties in this constituency, but the Shiv Sena is barely in the picture. The fight, according to Dadar-Mahim voters, will be between the MNS and the Bharatiya Janata Party – more specifically, between sitting legislator Nitin Sardesai on the one hand and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the other.
“Nitin Sardesai has been a good MLA who has improved the infrastructure of the area, but the Modi factor is also very strong,” said Vishwas Mahajan, a provision store owner who has lived in Mahim for the past 40 years. “People here like the MNS and still respect the Shiv Sena, but I know that a lot of us want the state to change the way Modi has changed the nation.”
The incumbent
Nitin Sardesai, a close aide of Raj Thackeray and the general secretary of the MNS, had two major competitors when he won the Mahim seat: Aadesh Bandekar of the Shiv Sena and Sadanand Sarvankar, who used to be with the Sena but defected to the Congress when the Thackerays denied him a ticket (Sarvankar is now back with Shiv Sena, which has given him a ticket to contest the 2014 election).
In his five years as a legislator, Sardesai has acquired the reputation of being an active, accessible leader for his constituency.
“Sardesai is from this area himself and lives in Shivaji Park, so he is always available for the people,” said Nitin Savla, a Mahim resident who runs a medical store. “I have seen him do the rounds of the constituency myself, and his people have ensured the repairs and redevelopment of more than a hundred buildings in the area.”
Across Dadar and Mahim, several residents vouch for Sardesai’s “good work” in building toilets, cleaning gutters and getting potholes repaired. He is credited even for work that falls in the jurisdiction of the civic corporation, because his campaigning is said to have helped the MNS win all six seats for corporators within the constituency.
“He funded a rainwater harvesting project at Shivaji Park and has also taken responsibility for the beautification of a new walkway coming up on the Dadar sea coast,” said Tasneem Shukul, a resident activist from Shivaji Park.
Before the Shiv Sena broke away from its long-term ally BJP last week, Shukul believed residents in Dadar and Mahim would have considered voting for “change”. With the alliance broken, she is among those who are confident Sardesai will win the seat again.
Waving in Maharashtra
Though most residents in Dadar-Mahim seem very satisfied with Sardesai, not many share Shukul’s confidence about his victory. The “Modi wave” is alive and kicking in the constituency and, if anything, has grown stronger since the Sena-BJP split.
“See, even the Americans are praising Modi now,” said Vijay Deshpande, a Dadar-based businessman, while reading newspaper headlines at his small linen store.
Like many voters in his area, Deshpande has no idea who the BJP candidate from his constituency is. Two days ago, the BJP gave the ticket to a first-timer, Vilas Ambekar. But most residents were unaware of this development.
“How does it matter who the candidate is?” Desphande said. “Modi is likely to win.”
Nitin Savla, the owner of a medical store in the area, is tight-lipped about his own political leanings, but explains how he thinks his constituency will vote. “Sardesai is the perfect choice for just Dadar-Mahim. But Modi is the right choice for the state and the country,” he said. “C-class voters, who don’t see the larger picture, are likely to vote for MNS, but the educated class will probably vote for BJP.”
Ashok Rawat, a prominent citizen activist in Dadar, sums up. “Nitin Sardesai may have done some good work in this area, but enlightened voters want achhe din in Maharashtra,” he said.
This time around, the October 15 Maharashtra assembly election will witness another clash between saffron parties in this constituency, but the Shiv Sena is barely in the picture. The fight, according to Dadar-Mahim voters, will be between the MNS and the Bharatiya Janata Party – more specifically, between sitting legislator Nitin Sardesai on the one hand and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the other.
“Nitin Sardesai has been a good MLA who has improved the infrastructure of the area, but the Modi factor is also very strong,” said Vishwas Mahajan, a provision store owner who has lived in Mahim for the past 40 years. “People here like the MNS and still respect the Shiv Sena, but I know that a lot of us want the state to change the way Modi has changed the nation.”
The incumbent
Nitin Sardesai, a close aide of Raj Thackeray and the general secretary of the MNS, had two major competitors when he won the Mahim seat: Aadesh Bandekar of the Shiv Sena and Sadanand Sarvankar, who used to be with the Sena but defected to the Congress when the Thackerays denied him a ticket (Sarvankar is now back with Shiv Sena, which has given him a ticket to contest the 2014 election).
In his five years as a legislator, Sardesai has acquired the reputation of being an active, accessible leader for his constituency.
“Sardesai is from this area himself and lives in Shivaji Park, so he is always available for the people,” said Nitin Savla, a Mahim resident who runs a medical store. “I have seen him do the rounds of the constituency myself, and his people have ensured the repairs and redevelopment of more than a hundred buildings in the area.”
Across Dadar and Mahim, several residents vouch for Sardesai’s “good work” in building toilets, cleaning gutters and getting potholes repaired. He is credited even for work that falls in the jurisdiction of the civic corporation, because his campaigning is said to have helped the MNS win all six seats for corporators within the constituency.
“He funded a rainwater harvesting project at Shivaji Park and has also taken responsibility for the beautification of a new walkway coming up on the Dadar sea coast,” said Tasneem Shukul, a resident activist from Shivaji Park.
Before the Shiv Sena broke away from its long-term ally BJP last week, Shukul believed residents in Dadar and Mahim would have considered voting for “change”. With the alliance broken, she is among those who are confident Sardesai will win the seat again.
Waving in Maharashtra
Though most residents in Dadar-Mahim seem very satisfied with Sardesai, not many share Shukul’s confidence about his victory. The “Modi wave” is alive and kicking in the constituency and, if anything, has grown stronger since the Sena-BJP split.
“See, even the Americans are praising Modi now,” said Vijay Deshpande, a Dadar-based businessman, while reading newspaper headlines at his small linen store.
Like many voters in his area, Deshpande has no idea who the BJP candidate from his constituency is. Two days ago, the BJP gave the ticket to a first-timer, Vilas Ambekar. But most residents were unaware of this development.
“How does it matter who the candidate is?” Desphande said. “Modi is likely to win.”
Nitin Savla, the owner of a medical store in the area, is tight-lipped about his own political leanings, but explains how he thinks his constituency will vote. “Sardesai is the perfect choice for just Dadar-Mahim. But Modi is the right choice for the state and the country,” he said. “C-class voters, who don’t see the larger picture, are likely to vote for MNS, but the educated class will probably vote for BJP.”
Ashok Rawat, a prominent citizen activist in Dadar, sums up. “Nitin Sardesai may have done some good work in this area, but enlightened voters want achhe din in Maharashtra,” he said.
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