Mumbai: The results of Maharashtra assembly election have sprung a surprise for the Shiv Sena, as its candidate failed to win the Bandra (E) seat. The constituency, which was a Sena bastion, has been bagged by Congress candidate Zeeshan Siddique.
The seeds of the Congress candidate’s victory here were sown by former chief minister Narayan Rane when he had sworn to defeat Sena in its homeground at any cost.
The Shiv Sena lost the Bandra (E) seat to Congress candidate Siddique due to various reasons. One, the division of votes of its own party in the assembly constituency. Sena had snubbed the incumbent Trupti Sawant and gave the party ticket to Mumbai mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, leading to the defeat of the the Sena candidate, which eventually helped Siddique win the seat with flying colours.
It was a do or die for the Shiv Sena here, as Matoshree, the residence of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, is under this constituency. The seat was earlier held by two-time member of the legislative assembly (MLA) the late Prakash Sawant, after which his wife, Trupti won a high-profile byelection, defeating former chief minister Narayan Rane. To avenge the defeat, Rane had silently helped the Congress candidate, Siddique, leading him to the victory.
Minority voters in Bandra (E) constituency, which is home to a large Muslim population, have always played a deciding factor in elections. Prakash Sawant, two-time MLA from this constituency, had a good rapport with people on ground.
Owing to this connection, when Prakash Sawant died and his wife Trupti was fielded as a candidate in the 2015 byelection, people had sent her to the Assembly against Rane.
This time around, however, Sena did not give a party ticket to sitting MLA Trupti Sawant, which is why the minority voters turned to their minority candidate Siddique, who was fielded by Congress.
Moreover, this constituency houses Government Colony, where people from the rural Maharashtra are the constituents. This is a staunch Congress vote-bank.
It is also speculated that Narayan Rane was exasperated over the alleged backstabbing where his son Nitesh was contesting from Kankavli seat.
Sena had fielded its candidate Satish Sawant against Nitesh on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, despite the Sena-BJP alliance. Rane also backed Siddique to win the Bandra (E) seat to ensure the defeat of the Sena candidate on their hometurf.
Meanwhile, Sena managed to win three seats in Mumbai North Central constituencies of Kalina, Kurla and Chandivli, where Sanjay Potnis, Mangesh Kudalkar and Dilip Lande became victorious respectively. The BJP candidates won two seats — Ashish Shelar at Bandra (W) and Parag Alavani at Vile Parle.
