A staple teatime snack of Maharashtra, the ‘Vadapav’, has now become a burger of contention in local politics, eight months ahead of the crucial Mumbai civic body elections.
Nitesh Rane, son of senior Congress minister Narayan Rane, on Friday launched the ‘Chhatrapati Vadapav’, to counter the ‘Shiv Vada’ brand launched by Shiv Sena.
“We will set up our stalls wherever there are Shiv Vada Pav stalls. If BMC removes our stalls, they will have to remove those stalls as well,” he said.
Easy to prepare, quick to serve, Vadapav is made of mashed potatoes, dipped in gramflour batter and fried. It is served in a bun with a red chilli-garlic powder, green chutney paste and a helping of sweet tamarind chutney.
Vadapavs are consumed daily by Mumbaikars, craving a quick, cheap and filling snack.
The non-profit organisation, Swabhimaan, led by Nitesh Rane launched its first outlet of Chhatrapati Vadapav at Powai, opposite an outlet recently inaugurated by Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray.
The over 100 Shiv Vada stalls in the city are mired in controversy with allegations that they lack permission of the civic administration.
In 1966, when the Sena was formed, party chief Bal Thackeray had encouraged Marathi people to set up vadapav stalls. In November 2008, the Sena held a vadapav competition here and the best recipe was branded as ‘Shiv Vada.’
