Maharashtra Assembly elections: Prestige battle for two Senas in Worli

A Sena bastion for years, the Assembly seat will witness a fierce battle where the political career of Aaditya Thackeray is at stake; Sena (UBT) banks on its traditional vote banks, while CM Shinde’s Sena relies on his government’s work in the area; the MNS too is in the race, making this a triangular fight

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Sunday (October 27, 2024) formally announced the candidature of sitting Rajya Sabha member Milind Deora from the Worli Assembly constituency in Mumbai, setting the stage for the biggest battle of the election in Maximum City.

The stakes are high not only for Mr. Deora and his opponent, sitting MLA Aaditya Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT), but also for Mr. Shinde and Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray. Not to be left behind, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Mr. Uddhav Thackeray’s cousin Raj Thackeray too has entered the race, naming veteran Sandeep Deshpande in a seat that is not his home ground. The MNS is looking to garner Marathi votes in the constituency, making this a triangular fight as well.

Worli, a Shiv Sena bastion for years, will witness a battle where the political career of Mr. Aaditya Thackeray is at stake. In the 2019 Assembly election, when the young Thackeray was launched in electoral politics by the then united Sena president Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, he had won the Worli seat by a margin of over 68,000 votes.

But over four years and a split later, in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Worli segment - a part of the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat - gave a lead of only 6,500 votes to the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate Arvind Sawant, who won the seat for the third time in a row. The slim lead is a matter of concern for the Sena (UBT) now.

“We were a bit careless during the Lok Sabha election. We had thought that the candidate fielded against us was not strong. So we did not do much to mobilise. That was a problem. That is why our winning lead was reduced. But we have learnt our lesson now. Our biggest asset is our organisational strength. It is formidable in Worli. Hardly any of the office-bearers of the party had left us. The only person who left us was Datta Narvankar. He had anyway come to us from the MNS,” said Ashish Chemburkar, a prominent Shiv Sena (UBT) leader from Worli.

Fortress Worli

Worli has been a Sena bastion since the 1990s. In 2009, the Nationalist Congress Party’s Sachin Ahir won the seat, but was later brought into the Sena fold by Mr. Uddhav Thackeray. In 2019, when Mr. Aaditya Thackeray was launched, the Worli seat was considered the safest bet.

“Dalit and Marathi vote banks are substantial in Worli. And both these voters have been with us. They will support us this time as well,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson and public relations head Harshal Pradhan. Sunil Shinde, a former MLA from Worli, said that Mr. Aaditya Thackeray was in direct touch with the voters and this “personal connect will help the party”.

Shinde’s pick

Meanwhile, Mr. Eknath Shinde’s Sena is banking on its government’s work in the area for the past two-and-a-half years, and on the outreach efforts of Mr. Deora. Sena leader and MP Shrikant Shinde credited the efforts of Mr. Deora for the reduced winning margin of the Sena (UBT) in the Lok Sabha election. “Mr. Deora was the local MP of that region for 10 years. He had worked there as a young Minister as well. He knows the problems of Worli very well. Before him, his father Murli Deora was also a legislator from South Mumbai. Worli is not new to Mr. Deora. It is because of Mr. Deora that the difference between the MVA and the Mahayuti candidates in the recent Lok Sabha election was down to 6,000 votes,” he said.

Mr. Shrikant Shinde claimed that Mr. Deora’s fight was against an “invisible and unreachable MLA”. “The organisational strength of both the BJP and Shiv Sena is good there. As a government, we know about the problems of Worli Koliwada, of BDD chawl, of the redevelopment and Slum Rehabilitation Authority projects. We have been working for them,” he said.

‘High-rise’ connect

Supporters of both Mr. Deora and Mr. Aaditya Thackeray claimed that the two leaders had direct connect with voters from the high rises of Worli, an important voter group. Moreover, the Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed that the party’s work during the COVID period was extensive and led to a lot of goodwill. Some leaders claimed they feared that “money power” of the ruling dispensation could be factor in the key election.

Published - October 28, 2024 11:02 pm IST