BJP’s bid to woo Tamil speakers in Dharavi. Will it work with voters?

In Dharavi the BJP and Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde have been trying to woo the local Tamil population many of whom have been living in the area for generations On Tuesday the BJPrsquos star campaigner in Tamil Nadu and former IPS officer Annamalai was in Dharavi on 90ftroad opposite Kamaraj Memorial Tamil High School asking for votes for the incumbent MP Rahul ShewaleHe shared the stage with another local leader BJPrsquos Captain Tamil Selvan as well as lsquoturncoatrsquo Ashok Chavan Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Republican Party of India leaders The primary theme of this rally was the issue of redevelopment Chavan whose speech was interrupted by the arrival of Annamalai and Tamil Selvan amidst cheers from the crowd was presented as a prominent figure in the Maratha reservation movementWooing the crowdldquoThere are vast communities in Dharavi who live in harmony I want to tell every community here that they wonrsquot be moved anywhere but given a house in Dharavi in the redevelopment projectrdquo he said in Hindi Before Chavan Raju Waghmare Shiv Sena Shinde spokesperson said ldquoDo not fall for things like BJP will do away with reservation MLA Varsha Gaikwad and Congress have only scared people here The development of Dharavi has gone for a tossrdquoCM Eknath Shinde tried to woo Tamil residents with the redevelopment plan PicsKirti Surve ParadeBJPrsquos Selvan roused the Tamil crowd prior to Annamalai ldquoNo one will be sent to Dharavi People will receive their houses here Congress does not want to lose on their slum votes they know if people get houses in buildings then they will lose on their slum votesrdquo When Annamalairsquos turn came to speak the crowd erupted with claps Many BJP workers in the back rushed to the front rows to capture a glimpse of him on their phone cameras even blurred pictures workedldquoIrsquom sorry Irsquom not able to speak in Hindi or Marathi but I request everyone to vote for Shewalerdquo Soon after Annamalai Shinde took over the event and said ldquoThose who have opposed redevelopment need to remember that this is for the poor Everyone who stays in Dharavi will get a house Not a single person will be sent outside This is our promiserdquoVoices of votersAyar Dass 54 said he and many like him suffered a lot during COVID19 as the trains came to a halt ldquoThe gas cylinder has been expensive Everything has become expensive Annamalai is from our state but so what our needs matter I will be changing my vote this timerdquoDass said he is inclined to vote for Shiv Sena UBT but does not know about Shewalersquos primary rival from South Central Anil Desai Mumbai Vizhithezhu Iyakkam a local activist group in the area working on civic issues estimates the Tamilspeaking population in Dharavi to be in lakhs ldquoLeaders from Tamil Nadu coming here to campaign is nothing new even Congress has done that But there is no representation in Maharashtra politics despite about 25 lakh language speakers in the staterdquo said Srithar Thamizhan chief coordinator of the organisationAccording to him those like Annamalai have an audience of Tamil speakers but it fails to have any real influence ldquoDharavi is driven by the issues here that impact everyone not just the Tamil population People want a better life they want better education they want jobs Tamil population wants dedicated trains and comfortable travel to their homerdquo he saidVennila Muthukumar 19 is a student of accounting and finance who works parttime in an internet cafe She is a firsttime voter her father works as a driver and her mother is a homemaker ldquoI donrsquot want to vote but I have to that is my responsibility I have not thought about issues yet but I like Rahul Gandhi because he talks about jobs and educationrdquoSrinivasan Devendra 66 said he has been living in Dharavi since birth as did his parents ldquoWe used to like Congressrsquos Eknath Gaikwad but we also like Rahul Shewale and leaders like Narendra Modi He Modi does not eat moneyrdquo When asked if he knew of electoral bonds his friend Nagalingam Nadar interrupted and said ldquoHe took that money and gave it to the party but did not pocket it himselfrdquo The two had their doubts about redevelopment ldquoWe have been hearing this for decades now No one will do anything real for DharavirdquoMany in Dharavi are like these two friends who have their doubts about redevelopment even as politicians continue to attempt to calm their fears A Marathi speaker Kavita Khandare 45 wants the next government and the MP from South Central to raise issues of education for the youth of Dharavi ldquoMy son is in Class 12 I want him to earn well and be respected that only happens with education Apart from that I want someone to consider the lives of the poor and bring down rising pricesrdquoAnother firsttime voter 21yearold Pawankumar Naikrsquos family hails from Karnataka but has lived in Dharavi for the last 20 years ldquoWe like Varsha Tai She has done a lot for usrdquo he said As a young voter who holds a diploma in electronics he wants the next government to create more higher education opportunities ldquoEknath Shinde is new so letrsquos see what he says hererdquo Naik said He had heard of Rahul Shewale but had not heard of Desai