Maha polls: Worli, Bandra, Colaba to witness big fights in Mumbai

Will Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray win Worli with a margin of over one lakh votes as hoped by the Sena? Will Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Ashish Shelar see a tough

Will Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray win Worli with a margin of over one lakh votes as hoped by the Sena? Will Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Ashish Shelar see a tough fight with Congress’s Asif Zakaria to retain his Bandra West seat? Will South Mumbai’s crown jewel Colaba see a neck-and-neck battle between two equally popular Marathi faces? Will Mumbai mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar make a place for himself in the state government? While the results will be out later in the day, here is a look at some of the most interesting fights.

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The most high-profile fight in Mumbai is the Worli Assembly constituency in the island city, owing to Aaditya’s electoral debut. He is also the first member of the Thackeray family to contest the elections, drawing the attention of the entire city to the area, which is considered a Sena stronghold. He is pitted against Bahujan Republican Socialist Party’s (BRSP) Suresh Mane, who is contesting on a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket.

In yet another Sena bastion in the island city, the Mahim Assembly constituency, which is considered a Marathi heartland, the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are set to face each other. Sandeep Deshpande from the MNS will take on sitting member of legislative Assembly (MLA) Sadanand Sarvankar from the Shiv Sena.

In the suburban constituency of Anushakti Nagar, which is dominated by the Muslim community in areas like Cheetah Camp and Govandi, NCP’s Mumbai president Nawab Malik is fighting against sitting MLA from Shiv Sena, Tukaram Kate. Kate has wrested the seat from Malik in 2014. Anushakti Nagar saw one of the highest voter turnouts in the city, among other Muslim-dominated areas, at 55.7%.

Another tough contest is in Colaba in the island city, which recorded the lowest turnout in the entire state at 40.11%. Congress candidate Ashok Jagtap, whose appeal lies in his common man persona (Jagtap is a labour union leader and a popular Marathi face), is set to take on NCP turncoat Rahul Narvekar, a born and raised Colaba-iite, fighting on a BJP ticket.

Among other interesting fights are Byculla, Sion Koliwada, and Dharavi in the island city, and Bandra East, Bandra West, Versova, and Malad in the western suburbs.

Senior political analyst Prakash Bal said, “Trend-wise, it is a one-sided election, with the Sena-BJP coming back to power. Some constituencies may throw surprises, but it will not affect the end result.”