Worli is the new epicentre of Sena (UBT) and BJP-BSS war

Felicitation of Shinde-Fadnavis in Worli Koliwada is however a flop show One of the highlights of the 2019 assembly elections was the entry of Aaditya Thackeray into electoral politics

Felicitation of Shinde-Fadnavis in Worli Koliwada is however a flop show

Mumbai, India - February 07, 2023: CM Eknath Shinde felicitated by Koli community of Worli Village, at Worli Sports Club, Worli, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, February 07, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

One of the highlights of the 2019 assembly elections was the entry of Aaditya Thackeray into electoral politics. The Worli assembly constituency was carefully chosen for the debut of the Thackeray scion who was the first in his family to deviate from the family tradition of not contesting elections.

Three years later, the same constituency could become a battleground of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. On Tuesday, the fishing community from Worli Koliwada organised an event to show gratitude to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for accepting their demand to widen the span between the two piers of the coastal road from 56 metres to 120 metres. The width is necessary to keep the navigation channel of their fishing boats intact, and in December 2022, CM Shinde had approved the plan despite an increase in the project cost of ₹650 crore.

Event organisers from Worli Koliwada said that the MVA government, led by then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, had not accepted their demand but Shinde-Fadnavis did so within a month. “The earlier government and Aaditya Thackeray failed to give us justice despite several requests. Now we will stand by the Shinde-Fadnavis government, and the results will be seen in the upcoming polls,” said Nitesh Patil, secretary of the Worli Koliwada Nakhava Society.

Contrary to expectation, however, the event was lukewarm, with plenty of empty chairs seen. While Fadnavis skipped it altogether, Shinde reached two hours late. The CM, in an attempt to connect with the fisherfolk, remarked in his speech that the Thackeray government had neglected the community’s issues but his government had taken immediate action on its request to widen the span between the two pillars. “This decision to increase the gap between the two pillars has brought us closer, as the fisherman are pillars of the city,” he said.

The Sena (UBT) versus BJP-BSS battle in Worli has been on for a while now. The constituency is a prime target in the ruling alliance’s plans to minimise the Sena (UBT) presence in Mumbai. Since August 2022, it has literally been laying siege to this Sena (UBT) stronghold. The BJP has organised various festival programmes—dahi handi, ‘Marathi dandiya’ as well as music competitions with big prizes. The BSS, on the other hand, has started poaching local leaders who had thus far remained loyal to Thackeray such as Santosh Kharat and Mansi Dalvi.

When Aaditya decided to make his debut in electoral politics, Worli was the constituency carefully chosen for him. Spread between a fishing village on the Worli coast to BDD chawls housing the working class to upmarket residential towers, the constituency is an eclectic mix of communities, albeit with Marathi speakers, about 60 percent of the population, dominating. These demographics, the traditional political hold of the Shiv Sena here and the fact that all six corporators from the Worli constituency were from the party made it a safe one for Aaditya.

In the run-up to the 2019 elections, the Shiv Sena-ruled BMC paid special attention to Worli. To ensure a comfortable election for Aaditya, all potential competitors were removed from the fray. Former NCP MLA from Worli, Sachin Ahir was convinced to join the party and was soon rewarded with a legislative council seat. Sitting Sena MLA Sunil Shinde was promised rehabilitation for vacating his seat. He too was later sent to the legislative council.

Although there was no major challenge before him in the elections, Thackeray launched a campaign to woo all communities from Worli. His posters greeting Gujarati voters with ‘Kem Cho Worli?’ created a buzz in city circles. While giving importance to Marathi-speaking groups, Aaditya reached out to all communities in his campaign. He was elected with a significant margin, receiving 89,248 votes as opposed to the NCP’s 21,821. Following his victory and even after becoming a minister, Aaditya kickstarted several local projects and stayed in touched with voters.

Following Tuesday’s accusations about the Thackeray government not taking up the fishing community’s request on the coastal road, the Thackeray faction hit back by questioning the BMC’s role in the issue. Sachin Ahir, former Worli MLA, said that the BMC had taken “a negative stand” when Uddhav and Aaditya had tried to change the design as demanded by the fishermen. Expressing surprise at how the civic body had changed its stance, he said, “We welcome the decision to approve the demands of fishermen. But at the same time I want to ask: Why has the MVA government’s project to spend ₹300 crore to beautify Worli Fort and provide infrastructure to fisherfolk been stalled?”

Sunil Shinde, another former Worli MLA, said Tuesday’s event would have no impact on the constituency. “The BJP-BSS is targeting Aaditya Thackeray as he is a promising young face of the party and has been raising questions against the Shinde-Fadnavis government on his tours. But Worli has been the party’s bastion for a long time. People, including the fishermen, have an emotional bond with the late Shiv Sena supremo Thackeray and his family. These attempts to disturb the party’s base will not succeed. Worli will remain the parties’ bastion in the coming elections.”

Aaditya, who is on a tour of North Maharashtra, dared Shinde to contest from Worli. “I will make sure that despite being CM and deputy CM, they will have to roam through the lanes of Worli for their campaign,” he said in a speech on Tuesday. “Victory will be mine. I dare CM Shinde to resign and come to fight from Worli. If he doesn’t have courage to come to Worli, I will go to Thane and fight elections against him.”