Colaba: Experience vs an ‘absentee’ candidate

Colaba's election sees BJP's Rahul Narwekar facing Congress's Hira Devasi, who struggles with visibility among voters in this diverse constituency.

MUMBAI: Colaba, a high-profile constituency in South Mumbai, is diverse and politically significant. It is witnessing a duel between the BJP sitting MLA and speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar, 47, and his Congress opponent, Hira Devasi, 48, who is allegedly conspicuous by his absence among voters.

Colaba: Experience vs an ‘absentee’ candidate

Among its 265,265 registered voters, there is a significant presence of Marathi voters, that is, around 90,000 in Colaba. There is an equal number of Gujarati, Marwari, Jain and North Indian voters. The constituency is also home to around 7,000 Catholics, 45,000 Muslims, and notably, 2,000 voters from the Parsi community, considered the largest Parsi community in Mumbai.

The constituency encompasses affluent high-rises inhabited by some of India’s wealthiest individuals, as well as slums like Ambedkar Nagar, Geeta Nagar and Anushakti Nagar, along with small chawls in Girgaon and mohallas in Masjid Bunder.

“It has a demographic mix, where the wants of one is the displeasure of the other. This constituency needs an MLA who can cater to diverse sections of society and I fit the bill,” Narwekar told HT.

Narwekar said he will advocate for special status for Colaba within the ‘State Capital Region’, similar to the National Capital Region. This would bring resources for improved infrastructure, sanitation, security, and maintenance.

The constituency houses critical institutions like the Bombay High Court, Mantralaya, Vidhan Bhavan, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Mumbai Police headquarters. It also attracts visitors to landmarks like the Gateway of India, CST and the University of Mumbai. Narwekar says Colaba, with a resident population of 13 lakh, has daily footfalls of 48 lakh, which places an enormous load on its infrastructure.

Narwekar has already made strides in improving policies that impact Colaba’s land use. He played a key role in reducing the premium on leasehold land from 25% to 5% for self-redevelopment. For projects involving private developers, the rate is now 10%.

Atul Kumar, president, Nariman Point Churchgate Citizens Welfare Trust said the area is challenged because there is no freehold land. “There is some amount of uncertainty since different neighbourhoods are staring at different expiration deadlines for their leases. Our MLA has done a remarkable job by the big reduction in the premium rate.”

The tenancy issue on Mumbai Port Authority land and rehabilitation of slums in Cuffe Parade are also priority areas. Narwekar has been in discussions on the former with the Union shipping minister and has briefed the Prime Minister’s Office on the matter. On the latter, he is working to secure necessary permissions under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and defense NOC for SRA schemes in Colaba, particularly in areas like Cuffe Parade.

Darshana Pagdhare, 33, homemaker and a resident Machimar Nagar in Colaba, said Narwekar is a hands-on MLA. “We don’t know his opponent. He hasn’t visited us yet.”

Devasi was the Congress candidate from the Malabar Hill constituency during the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections against BJP’s sitting MP Mangal Prabhat Lodha. Lodha won the seat with a margin of more than 71,000 votes, with a vote share of 75%.

Although his social media handle shows him campaigning in Geeta Nagar and Murti Nagar slums, Devasi still doesn’t have an election office in Colaba. Puran Doshi, 63, general secretary of the Mumbai Congress and a two-time corporator who has worked in this constituency for 35 years, has a party office in the Colaba market. “I learnt my name had been removed from the selection list and the candidate fielded is a resident of Tardeo. He has never worked in this area. Devasi doesn’t inform us about padyatras, nor is he giving us any election work,” said Doshi.

Despite multiple attempts to contact him, Devasi remained unavailable for comment.