Maharashtra polls: In Bandra East, it's Siddique’s son vs Thackeray’s nephew

Vandre East sees a fierce contest between Zeeshan Siddique (NCP) and Varun Sardesai (Shiv Sena UBT), intensified by recent violence and political rivalry

Mumbai: The Vandre East (Bandra East) constituency will see a high-voltage contest, not only for the candidates who are battling it out here, but also because former state minister Baba Siddique was recently murdered right outside the office of his son Zeeshan, who is seeking re-election.

Bandra East: Siddique’s son vs Thackeray’s nephew

Slugging it out for the seat is Zeeshan, 32, of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Varun Sardesai, 31, nephew of party chief Uddhav Thackeray. This is the second high-profile battle in this constituency. Earlier, in 2015, former chief minister and Uddhav Thackeray bete noire, Narayan Rane, had tried to wrest the seat from the Sena in a by-election but was defeated by Sena candidate Trupti Sawant.

The constituency houses two landmarks in Mumbai – Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), an upscale business district, and Matoshree, residence of the Thackerays. Not surprisingly, it is prestigious for the Thackeray camp. The seat was won by the undivided Shiv Sena in the 2009 and 2014 elections but lost in 2019, when Zeeshan Siddique won it on a Congress ticket. The Thackeray faction now wants it back as Zeeshan switched to the NCP, with the Congress accepting Thackeray’s claim to the seat.

Soon after the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, the Sena (UBT) began preparing the ground for the assembly polls here. They decided to field Sardesai, a close confidant of his cousin Aaditya Thackeray. According to party insiders, Uddhav has handed the reins to his key strategist, Anil Parab, who is also the Vibhag Pramukh of the area. His mandate is clear: make sure Sardesai wins.

“Since Zeeshan Siddique shifted to the NCP, it became easier for the Sena (UBT) to stake its claim to the seat. Thackeray is on good terms with Congress leaders in Mumbai, and the party gave up their claim to the seat without a fuss,” said a senior Sena (UBT) leader. The Sena has always polled 40,000-45,000 votes in this constituency. Since Uddhav’s Sena is now a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the party hopes to win a significant chunk of minority and Dalit votes, he said, adding, “It doesnt seem to be a difficult election to win.”

The NCP thinks otherwise. They believe two factors will help Zeeshan retain the seat. “First, the sympathy factor. Baba Siddique was locally a popular leader. His death, right here in the constituency, will evoke sympathy among voters. Second, Zeeshan has been an active MLA. During Covid, he helped the poor in terms of medicines, hospitalisation and even supplying essentials. His voters will remember this,” said a senior NCP leader.

Voter demographics

From the slums along the railway lines, to MHADA buildings in Kherwadi, to government colony and BKC, the latest address of India Inc, Vandre East has a cross-section of society. It has a mix of Marathi-speaking voters, Muslims and Dalits. It has several slum pockets and also newly built residential towers along with BKC.

The constituency was carved out in 2009. Earlier, it was largely a part of Kherwadi and, for quite a while, seen as a Congress stronghold due to a combination of Muslim and Dalits voters. After its boundaries were redrawn, Shiv Sena’s Bala Sawant won the seat in 2009 and 2014. After he died in 2015, the by-election saw a high-stakes contest as the Congress fielded former chief minister Narayan Rane, who a year earlier had lost the assembly election in Kudal constituency in the Konkan to the Shiv Sena’s Vaibhav Naik. Rane swore revenge but he failed to win, with Sawant’s widow Trupti winning the by-election.

However, Sawant was denied a ticket in 2019 and the Sena fielded former mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar. Sawant rebelled and contested as an independent. Zeeshan, a Congress nominee, benefited from the division of votes and was elected.

The constituency has 40,000-45000 loyal Sena votes that the party got in 2009 and 2014. Even at the height of Raj Thackeray’s agitation, when his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won 13 assembly seats, it made no dent in the Sena votes. Sawant’s rebellion, however, divided those votes and it led to the Sena’s defeat.

Now the Sena (UBT) hopes to reel in those votes. Besides, it also believes that Zeeshan won’t get most of the minority votes as the Lok Sabha trends showed that minority voters had thrown their weight behind Sena (UBT) candidates since they were contesting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance. Zeeshan, as an NCP candidate, is now with the Mahayuti alliance.

What the candidates say

Sardesai is confident of winning. “This is a traditional bastion of the Sena. We lost it due to the split in our votes in 2019. We got a lead of 23,000 votes in this segment for the MVA Lok Sabha candidate even though the local MLA did not work for us,” said Sardesai, who began working in the constituency immediately after Lok Sabha election. “We have Marathi voters loyal to the Shiv Sena. Besides, minority and Dalit voters too won’t vote for Zeeshan since they know which camp he is in now,” he added.

Sardesai studied civil engineering at Columbia University in the United States and worked there for a year before returning to India. He joined the Yuva Sena, and after the split in the Sena, was appointed secretary of the party. In the Thackeray camp, he is regarded a close confidant of Aaditya Thackeray.

On Friday, Zeeshan took to social media to announce his decision to contest. “My father Baba Siddique ji always fought for the poor and weaker sections of the society and firmly believed in hard work and perseverance. As a father it was his dream to see me win these elections after all the work we have done in Vandre East. Now it is my duty to fulfill his dream and serve the people of Vandre East,” he said on social media platform X, after receiving the NCP nomination.

During the MVA regime, the constituency was frequently in the news due to tussles between Zeeshan and the local Shiv Sena (UBT) unit as the former would accuse the Thackeray faction leaders of interfering. This tussle has transformed into an electoral fight. Can Zeeshan retain his seat or will Sardesai wrest the constituency back for the party?