Veterans, newbies, and civic activism shape H West ward polls

Seasoned BJP corporators Alka Kerkar, Swapna Mhatre and Hetal Gala are in the fray alongside newcomers, while Raja Rehbar Khan, also a former corporator in Bandra Reclamation and along Bazaar Road, is contesting on a Congress ticket

MUMBAI: In the upscale H West ward, comprising Bandra, Khar and Santacruz West, the electoral contest has a mix of experienced faces and first-time challengers, with campaign strategies centred around Advanced Locality Management (ALMs) outreach and civic engagement.

Veterans, newbies, and civic activism shape H West ward polls. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

Seasoned BJP corporators Alka Kerkar, Swapna Mhatre and Hetal Gala are in the fray alongside newcomers, while Raja Rehbar Khan, also a former corporator in Bandra Reclamation and along Bazaar Road, is contesting on a Congress ticket. Candidates across parties have sought to connect with voters through active residents’ groups and ALMs.

But this election feels markedly different. The passing away of stalwart activists such as Anandini Thakoor, Shyama Kulkarni and Roshan Dabhoiwala, figures who once played a pivotal role in connecting candidates to housing societies and galvanising civic participation has left a palpable void. Their absence is deeply felt in a ward long regarded as one of Mumbai’s most civically engaged and organised neighbourhoods.

Swapna Mhatre, contesting for a second term from Ward 104, which stretches from the elite Carter Road to Khar station and up to Danpanda on Ambedkar Road, reached out to voters through meetings with the nearly 100 ALMs in the ward. Pointing out that low water pressure and bad roads were the primary issues raised by residents, she said she would ask housing societies to adopt roads as well as the trees along them for cleanliness and boosted greenery. “Involving them will make for participatory democracy,” she said.

Mhatre also plans to propose free tree-trimming services within housing societies and is developing a sports complex at Shirley Rajan gaothan in Bandra West. Other proposed projects include sprucing up the Carter Road promenade and taking up the concerns of village and gaothan residents on priority.

In Santacruz West’s Ward 97, Hetal Gala, contesting for a second term, held her final campaign rally from Santacruz station to Daulat Nagar. “If I win, I will take up the beautification of Santacruz station,” she said. Gala pointed out that she was instrumental in pushing for a mini fire station in Santacruz West in 2018 and now intends to upgrade it. “We will convert it into a full-fledged fire station,” she said.

Emphasising her grassroots connect, the former corporator said her outreach extended to slum areas as well. She intends to look at SRA projects in Daulat Nagar where roads marked on the Development Plan have not been constructed. “There are no active ALMs but residents’ groups on every road,” she said. “The comfort level with residents should be such that they do not hesitate to reach out.”

Alka Kerkar, a three-time corporator from Ward 98, which covers parts of Khar and Santacruz West, said that traffic congestion, parking and hawkers were the dominant issues in her constituency. With no major opponents from mainstream parties, this gives her an edge. Kerkar said that while she too relied on ALMs for outreach, the absence of veteran activists such as Anandini Thakoor and Shyama Kulkarni was deeply felt during the campaign.

Raja Rehbar Khan, contesting from Ward 102, covering Bandra Reclamation, Hill Road, Bazaar Road, Chapel Road and Ice Factory Lane, was a corporator from 2007 to 2012. His wife, Mumtaz, served as a corporator between 2017 and 2022. Both were independent candidates.

This time Khan is contesting on a Congress ticket on the say-so of Varsha Gaikwad. On the civic front, he said he would propose underground garbage bins on Bazaar Road. He also plans to raise concerns over alleged land grab issues in Bandra Reclamation, where the government has already awarded a tender to the Adani Group. “The work on the cemetery in Bandra West was my proposal,” he said, talking of his accomplishments. “We also got approval for a BMC school with a CBSE board on Bazaar Road.”