The opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led in only five of the 36 Assembly segments in Mumbai, as per an analysis of the 2019 Lok Sabha results.
The analysis also shows the Marathi vote bank has strongly remained with the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), despite efforts by the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Among the seats in which opposition candidates have gained a lead are Mankhurd from Mumbai North East (41,670 votes), Dharavi (SC) from Mumbai South Central (8,991), Mumbadevi (34,869) and Byculla (28,675) from Mumbai South and Bandra East (1,276) from Mumbai North Central. The Congress’s sitting Members of the Legislative Assembly Naseem Khan from Chandivali and Aslam Sheikh from Malad (West) could not give a boost to candidates in the Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North constituencies either.
In the 2014 Assembly polls, the Congress had won only five seats in Mumbai: Mumbadevi, Chandivali, Dharavi (SC), Wadala and Malad West. The Nationalist Congress Party did not win any seat, while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen and Samajwadi Party won Mumbadevi and Mankhurd. The BJP and Sena won 14 and 15 seats here respectively.
While the Opposition added three new Assembly seats to the list, two of its sitting MLAs could not perform to expectations. The Congress-NCP alliance has fared better than the saffron alliance only in Muslim and Dalit-dominated Assembly segments.
The analysis also shows that the Raj Thackeray-led MNS could not transfer its vote share in favour of the Congress or NCP candidates.
In the Sewri Assembly segment where Mr. Thackeray held a public rally, Shiv Sena candidate Arvind Sawant won 91,497 votes in comparison to 41,645 votes of Congress candidate Milind Deora. Similarly, in the Marathi-dominated Worli Assembly segment, the Sena candidate won 78,653 votes while the Congress managed to win only 42,499 votes.
In the Mahim segment, which covers Dadar, a traditional battlefield between the Sena and the MNS, the Sena’s Rahul Shewale won 91,635 votes. On the other hand, Congress candidate Eknath Gaikwad won only 38,145 votes.
In Mumbai North East, despite the BJP putting up a Gujarati candidate and the history of previous Member of Parliament Kirit Somaiya taking the Sena leadership head on, the Marathi population in Bhandup and Vikhroli Assembly segments voted overwhelmingly for the BJP’s Manoj Kotak. Mr. Kotak won 97,269 and 69,618 votes respectively in these two Assembly seats while the NCP’s Sanjay Dina Patil won only 50,346 and 41,502 votes. Mr. Thackeray had held a rally in Bhandup.
In Mumbai North, Gopal Shetty secured a lead against Urmila Matondkar of the Congress in all six Assembly segments. Former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam too could not surpass his Sena rival Gajanan Kirtikar in any Assembly segment.
