Nirupam joins Shinde-led Sena: Analysing impact on Mumbai's political landscape

Veteran politician Sanjay Nirupam who was recently expelled from Congress for antiparty activities joined Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena on May 5 ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 Nirupam who had been vying to contest Lok Sabha Elections 2024 joined his alma mater Shiv Sena nearly two decades after he quit the undivided partyNirupam a seasoned politician with a large following provides extensive experience and a strong grassroots network Nirupam hopes to profit on the Shiv Senas established presence and influence in Mumbai by linking himself with the party under the leadership of Eknath ShindeNirupam surely stands to benefit from CM Shindeled Senas electoral machinery and get access to a wellestablished network of supporters and resources However it is worth understanding whether the former Mumbai Congress chiefs move could have ripple effects on Mumbais electoral field and the larger political landscape given the city will go into voting shortly on May 20middaycom spoke to a political analyst to understand the impact of Nirupamrsquos move Abhay Mokashi a journalist and political analyst said that joining Sena might have been the best choice for the veteran politician since he was expelled from grandold party for six yearsAlso Read Exclusive In politics friends become enemies you never know in which direction the coin will flip says Prakash AmbedkarMokashi who is also a media trainer said that Sanjay Nirupam had entered politics through Shiv Sena since he was acquainted to late Bal Thackeray since the former worked as an editor with then undivided partyrsquos mouthpiece SaamanaldquoSanjay Nirupam entered politics because he was editor of Hindi Saamana thatrsquos how he was offered a ticket and became a Rajya Sabha Although he still had differences with the party then he went to the Upper House of the Parliamentrdquo said Mokashi adding that he was never a directly elected representativeHe stated that when Nirupam won by contesting on Congress ticket in 2009 it was because the grand old party at the time had a good following in MumbaiWhile responding to a query on whether Nirupamrsquos joining Sena will bear any impact on Mumbairsquos electoral landscape Mokashi opined that he does not believe that it will not make a significant impact considering Nirupam is not seen as a mass leaderldquoSanjay Nirupam has a following among the hawkers since he had organised rallies and etc when the hawking policy was introduced in the city Some people may consider voting for the alliance he representsrdquo Mokashi saidThe analyst said both Sanjay Raut and Nirupam were given Upper House tickets by Balasaheb Thackeray he observed unlike the former Sanjay Nirupam cannot command the audiencersquos attentionldquoWhen we look at Sanjay Nirupam has he emerged as a great orator Has he emerged as a great leader with a significant following The answer to these questions is no emphatically no So his departure from the Congress is unlikely to make much of an impact Perhaps some individuals from Uttar Pradesh might consider supporting whoever Sanjay aligns with but its important to reiterate hes not a mass leaderrdquo said MokashiHe noted that Sanjay Nirupam has joined a faction of Shiv Sena which is called as such by the Election Commission the Shinde group He opined that the Shinde faction in Mumbai ldquohas taken a beatingrdquoSanjays entry might contribute to perhaps 05 percent of the votes but these votes alone are insufficient to secure an election victory or significantly dent the Congress vote bankrdquo the analyst notedWhen asked about the challenges Nirupam will face hereon to fit with Shiv Sena he noted that the leaderrsquos previous acquaintance with key Sena leaders may give him some reassurance however it is unclear as to how he navigates the partyrsquos ideological environmentldquoHell fit in because hes come from the Shiv Sena the undivided Shiv Sena which was a hardcore Hindutva party As long as Balasaheb Thackeray was alive it was a hardcore Hindutva party and strongly talking about the Marathi morals That has changed now under Uddhav Thackerayrdquo said MokashiHe added that in a way ldquoone can say he was on misfit and misfit in the Congressrdquo However he also added that given Sanjay Nirupamrsquos silence on crucial issues plaguing Mumbai and the nation like electoral bonds had impacted his political career and that joining Shindeled Sena which is trying to gain its own foot since the split has only accelerated the end of his careerMeanwhile political strategist and founder of Think Tank Niti Tantra Ritwik Mehta said that the Nirupam who has been an MP two times from Mumbai North Lok Sabha consituency had benefited from the antiCongress vote split between Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and BJP in 2009Echoing similar sentiments to Mokashi Mehta stated that Nirupam has been the nonMarathi face for Congress and shall now be the same for Shindeled SenaPeople belonging to multiple castes have migrated from northern parts of India to Mumbai in search of employment This includes people from more than 30 varied castes including Vishwakarma Kurmi Koiri Pal Kanojia Gupta Chaurasiya Maurya and Rajbhar castes who have been residing in Maharashtra for almost 23 generations now he said adding that the communities see Nirupam as their representative