Narendra Modi wave and opposition ripple contest for sea of change

The North East constituency's competitors are BJP's star candidate Manoj Kotak and former MP, NCP's Sanjay Patil, both of whom are confident of securing a win

Will the Modi wave continue or will the opposition bring back its 2009 win? This is what the key candidates in the North East constituency are grappling with. While the constituency has a significant Gujarati population, candidates would have to garner the Marathi voters in the constituency to tip themselves towards a win, say political analysts. The analysts said the support of the Shiv Sena, a key to the Marathi votes, is important this time for its ally BJP, as the MNS has openly said they are working for a BJP-mukt India, thus giving their support to the NCP candidate. This is significant considering the 2014 results, when MNS's support led BJP's Kirit Somaiya win more than three lakh votes.

The constituency comprises six Vidhan Sabha segments, namely Mulund, Vikhroli, Bhandup West, Ghatkopar West, Ghatkopar East and Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, and has been previously represented by leaders such as the late Pramod Mahajan of BJP and the late Gurdas Kamat of Congress.

Key contestants here are BJP's Manoj Kishore Kotak and NCP's Sanjay Dina Patil. Kotak has been a three-time corporator. With the party backing out of supporting senior leader Somaiya upon pressure from Sena, Kotak has emerged as the star candidate from North East. He is confident of winning the elections and said the Modi wave will continue.

Committed to common man
His opponent, Patil, had been elected from North East to the 15th Lok Sabha in the May 2009 general elections, but had lost his re-election to Somaiya in 2014. Confident of winning the elections this time due to the confusion and chaos among the saffron partners, Patil said he was committed to the common man and his problems.

Patil alleged the constituency had failed to match up with the pace of work of their government, "We had drawn up elaborate plans for the overall development of the area as per requirements, in consultation with all stakeholders, including citizens. But all of them were left incomplete as the [current] government in power blocked all of them. The main issues, therefore, are to get all the stranded works back into action so that overall growth of the area begins again. The area also has a slum population looking for safety and stability. We are moving ahead with this vision and determination," he told mid-day.

Elaborating, he said there were a couple of major issues he'd like to focus on, "Take the issue of the dumping grounds at Govandi and Kanjurmarg. They need to be sanitized. The people living around the area have been suffering from problems like asthma and skin infections. There is urgent need to look into all this at a policy level. The other big issue are project affected people. These people have given their homes up for a city project and they need to be rehabilitated well. After that comes a lack of adequate public hospitals in the constituency. There were proposals to build new ones and we had worked out plans for them but the present government ignored them."

Fast paced or slow?
Patil further claimed the ambitious plans made by his party and government were sidelined by the BJP government. He said his dream plan was to use the salt pan land for the people. "The salt pan land has huge scope for development. Taking all possible stakeholders and professional consultants, during my last tenure, we drew up a blueprint with partnerships between state and central governments to give the area a much-needed boost. The idea was to have a health complex, a educational complex and a sports complex; there is a dearth of such complexes in the eastern suburbs. If voted to power, I will take this plan ahead."

Refuting this, Kotak said the works in the constituency have been fast-paced, "I will continue the developmental works by Somaiya that have been going on in the constituency. Works in the constituency shall double up now with the two of us looking at their welfare."

Kotak added, "Mumbai as a whole is undergoing a sea change with the Metro work. There are a lot of Metro stations coming up at major junctions and colonies where the alignment passes. My priority will be to sync them with the area and see how can they be better connected. The other serious issue is the dumping ground at Deonar, which we are committed to close. Railways are the lifeline of Mumbai and I shall ensure increase of services. Other long-term plans include developing a sturdy water transport network and creating more open spaces in my constituency."

Phir ek baar...
Kotak feels the delay in announcing his candidature won't affect his win, "This is a very vibrant constituency and the party has managed to deftly capture the aspirations and demands of each of the voters. I have been welcomed enthusiastically everywhere. There is josh among the workers and all have welcomed by nomination. My predecessor is fully supporting me and is guiding my campaign. I have the blessings of our alliance leaders and workers."

"Being a corporator, I have my feet on the ground and am in touch with the ground realities of my constituency. The party delayed selecting a candidate for North East so there is not much time for homework. Then there are factors like MNS and other parties working against BJP. But, I don't think that the delay in announcing my candidature will in any way affect my prospects. Because my party has already done the ground work, devised its strategy and geared up the election machinery. Other parties do not even matter much at the Parliamentary elections because people have decided Phir Ek Bar Modi Sarkar." Refusing to comment on Patil and his candidature, all Kotak said was, "I have a battle to win."

The independent

Meanwhile, Anil Hebbar Koni, an environmentalist with Medha Patkar's team, who has filed nomination as an independent candidate said, "I am happy people are at least talking about the dumping ground. The citizens here have a right to fresh air." He said he  has come up with a model which advocates each ward in the city should be able handle its waste completely.

Voters say
Aarti S Mayekar,
Bhandup resident
'As a homemaker, I feel we need good education for our children, a place to play, gardens for our senior citizens, and hospitals'

Vishnu Murli Nair,
Mulund resident
'As a first-time voter, I strongly believe our MP should think about students and the younger generation. We need change. Youth leaders should replace the older ones'

Nisha Subramanian Kunju,
Bhandup resident
'Our candidate must be well-educated, have a perspective on the issues as well as some prior experience. He should be able to grasp the issues at the national level and be accessible to citizens here'

Also Read: Elections 2019: No Modi wave in country, BJP will be ousted, says Amarinder Singh

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