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Comprising a multi-religious and multicultural population, Mumbai’s Vandre (Bandra) East constituency volition witnesser a fierce conflict betwixt sitting MLA Zeeshan Siddique of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), who won connected a Congress summons successful 2019, and Uddhav Thackeray’s nephew Varun Sardesai.
Trupti Sawant of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), who is simply a erstwhile Shiv Sena MLA from the constituency, is besides vying for the seat, making it a triangular fight. Political observers consciousness that Marathi votes that volition spell to the MNS could beryllium to beryllium a cardinal origin successful deciding the destiny of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and Mahayuti candidates.
Both Sardesai and Siddique, who are successful their aboriginal 30s, connection voters a accidental to take a young representative.
Sardesai, 31, who has been progressive with the Shiv Sena’s pupil helping Yuva Sena since 2010 and is presently its secretary, is the lad of Aaditya Thackeray’s maternal aunt. He did his Masters successful Science successful Construction Engineering and Management from Columbia University, USA successful 2015.
Zeeshan Siddique, meanwhile, secured an MA successful Global Management, People Management and Leadership from Regent’s Business School, London the aforesaid year.
Sardesai looking to re-establish Sena hold
Varun Sardesai, known for his organisational skills, was a backroom manager for the Yuva Sena successful the precocious held Mumbai University elections, wherever the pupil helping won each 10 seats. Making his electoral debut, Sardesai was named successful the archetypal database of the Sena (UBT) to contention from the constituency wherever the Thackeray residence Matoshree is located.
He faces a stiff situation successful re-establishing Shiv Sena’s clasp connected the spot aft the undivided Sena’s erstwhile politician Vishwanath Mahadeshwar mislaid to Siddique successful 2019 by implicit 5,790 votes.
The Bandra East constituency epitomises Mumbai’s divers demographics with a important premix of colonisation comprising Muslim, Dalit communities and Marathi-speaking people, too hosting a sizeable fig of North Indian Hindi-speaking people, Gujaratis and Christian voters.
Besides slum pockets adjacent railway stations, middle-class enclaves, aged authorities and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) colonies, the constituency is besides location to the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), an upscale concern hub, and high-end residential towers adjacent MIG Colony successful the Kalanagar country wherever the Thackerays formed their votes.
As per section residents, the constituency faces respective issues that interaction their lives, including slum redevelopment, the mediocre information of roads, entree to railway stations, information of pedestrians, postulation congestion owed to Metro and different infrastructure works, cleanable drinking h2o supply, and deficiency of nationalist playgrounds, among others.
The Bandra East constituency was carved retired arsenic a abstracted Assembly conception for the 2009 elections post-delimitation. After the country was redrawn, the Shiv Sena’s Prakash (Bala) Sawant won the spot successful the 2009 and 2014 elections and successful the bypoll aft his death, his woman Trupti Sawant defeated the past Congress person and erstwhile main curate Narayan Rane with a important margin. Rane is present a BJP MP.
Zeeshan relying connected past works, sympathy wave
Last month, 32-year-old Zeeshan Siddique – who was expelled from the Congress – joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP to contention the Assembly elections with the BJP-led Mahayuti a fewer days aft the execution of his begetter and NCP person Baba Siddique who enjoyed overmuch clout successful suburban Bandra.
On the sympathy factor, Zeeshan said his begetter fought for the rights of mediocre and weaker sections, including housing, and helium would instrumentality the aforesaid guardant and fulfill his father’s imagination to service Bandra residents.
However, the Sena (UBT) banks connected its content that Zeeshan is improbable to get astir votes from the Muslim and Dalit communities arsenic they are much apt to beryllium inclined towards Thackeray’s party, which is warring against the Mahayuti. Zeeshan, meanwhile, relies connected his enactment successful the constituency implicit the past 5 years and the sacrifices his household has made for the people.
The caller Lok Sabha elections saw the Mahayuti trailing successful the Bandra East Assembly spot country with the Congress’s Mumbai portion main Varsha Gaikwad taking a pb of 27,462 votes against the BJP’s Ujjwal Nikam.
Asked astir the transportation of Congress votes to the Sena (UBT), Sardesai said that during the Lok Sabha elections, his party’s cadre worked hard to marque Gaikwad get a singular pb successful the areas including Bandra East and the Congress cadres are alert of the same. They person seen Sena (UBT) votes getting transferred to the Congress campaigner and present during the Assembly elections, the Congress volition beryllium with us, helium added.
Vandre (Bandra) East Assembly constituency
Candidates
Zeeshan Siddique (NCP/ Mahayuti)
Varun Sardesai: (Shiv Sena-UBT/MVA)
Trupti Sawant (MNS)
Voters
Total: 2,51,371 (as per 2019 polls)
Turnout successful 2019 Assembly elections: 50.36%
Population
Muslims: 33.1%
Christian: 1.9%
Scheduled Caste: 6.97%
Scheduled Tribe: 0.38%
The remaining voters are Gujaratis, Marathi speakers and North Indians
2019 Assembly canvass results: Zeeshan Siddique (Congress) defeated undivided Shiv Sena’s Vishwanath Mahadeshwar by 5,790 votes.
2024 Lok Sabha elections: In the country nether Bandra East Assembly constituency, Varsha Gaikwad (Congress/MVA) won by 27,462 votes
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