‘The fight is between Worlikar, Bandraiite’

The contest for the Worli seat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections is a fight between a “Worlikar” and a “Bandraiite”, said the man pitted against Yuva Sena leader

The contest for the Worli seat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections is a fight between a “Worlikar” and a “Bandraiite”, said the man pitted against Yuva Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray. As the much-anticipated poll battle heats up, here is a look at Suresh Mane, the man fielded by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to take on the Thackeray scion.

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Mane, 59, is a lawyer by profession and has been active in Dalit politics for over two decades. He graduated from the University of Mumbai (MU) with a doctorate in law and headed the varsity’s law department. In 1984, when Dalit leader Kanshi Ram set up the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Mane was one of the founding members. During his decades-long stint with the party, he held several key positions, including the party’s Maharashtra state secretary till 2003 and national general secretary from 2003 to 2015. He was the party’s coordinator for south and north-east Indian states.

In October 2015, he was expelled by party chief Mayawati, following which he set up the Bahujan Republican Socialist Party (BRSP). The BRSP is now part of Congress-NCP led Opposition front. Contesting on an NCP ticket, Mane is confident of taking on Aaditya. “A member of the Thackeray family is contesting elections for the first time and has found a secure seat in Worli. But I would like to point out that it is wrong to perceive it as a secure seat. Other candidates also have a good chance of winning from the constituency due to a number of factors,” said Mane.

According to Mane, the Worli constituency is a dynamic one, comprising socially-oppressed communities and well-to-do classes that do not identify with the Sena’s brand of politics. It also has a sizeable population of the Koli community, which has distanced itself from the Sena owing to their objections over the coastal road plan, Mane said.

Sena leader Sunil Shinde is the current sitting member of the Assembly seat. “I have fought the politics of struggle, not politics of power. I represent the struggling side, so I will struggle to win,” he said. “My socio-political life started from Worli. I lived in a BDD chawl and have roots there. This is a battle between a Worlikar and a Bandraiite.”