I didn`t win only because of Muslim votes. The BJP knows that, and they are scared that if I could win in a predominantly Hindu constituency, so could other Muslims. That’s a problem for them because they don’t give tickets to Muslims,” said Versova Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Haroon Khan, who defeated two-time BJP MLA Bharati Lavekar, securing 44 per cent of the vote share in his electoral debut in last year’s Assembly polls.

Khan, 63, who earned overnight fame as the only Muslim to have been given a ticket by Uddhav Thackeray for the Assembly polls, with both Devendra Fadnavis and Asaduddin Owaisi mentioning him in their campaign speeches, is once again in the spotlight. Last week, Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam, addressing a party meet, warned that only a BJP victory in the forthcoming BMC polls could prevent “a Haroon Khan being elected in every ward” and “a Khan becoming mayor” of Mumbai. The “Malwani-Versova model” (both Assembly constituencies elected Muslim MLAs) would result in “changing the colour of the city,” said Satam.