Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) is contesting 22 of the 36 assembly seats in the city. Sena (UBT) won 3 of the 4 Mumbai seats it contested in the Lok Sabha polls. Party strategist MLC Anil Parab, who is in charge of several seats in the city, said Sena (UBT) will win at least 15 in Mumbai. He said it will be hard for the Eknath Shinde-led Sena because MNS will end up damaging MahaYuti’s prospects. Parab said three-way fights in prestige seats like Worli, Mahim and Bandra East will, in fact, help the Sena (UBT) gain an edge.
Excerpts from an interview:
Q. There was friction in MVA over seat-sharing in Mumbai. Are you seeing any tussle on the ground now? Congress is only fighting 10 seats, down from 30 in 2019.
A. It is true that we are fighting 22 seats, but Mumbai has always been the stronghold of the Shiv Sena (UBT). Even in 2109, we got 15 MLAs in Mumbai. This time too, we will win at least 15.
Q. Sena (UBT) has propped up Haroon Khan, a Muslim candidate in Versova. What was the strategy behind this?
A. It is not a strategy. The minority community has showered its love on us, they liked Uddhav Thackerayji’s work as CM and his politics. They voted for us in the Lok Sabha. We have given a candidate who is a Shiv Sainik. He’s a Sena (UBT) worker, former corporator.
Q. MNS is fighting several seats in Mumbai against the Sena and BJP.
A. We see MNS as a vote splitter. MNS is fighting these polls on the BJP’s script. In fact, many of its candidates may have been chosen by BJP. MNS candidates can’t win, but they are making an effort to split Marathi votes.
Q. What about vote transfer within MVA?
A. There will be seamless vote transfer. We saw this in Lok Sabha polls, we will improve on this. Sena (UBT) is going out of the way to work for Congress candidates to ensure their win. There is no animosity between the MVA partners at all.
Q. There are three-way fights in Mahim, Bandra East and Worli. All are prestige seats. What is your take on this?
A. The fact that they are three-way fights will help Sena (UBT) win all three. Sena (UBT) base is intact… candidates of MNS and Shinde will eat into each other’s votes. All these are traditional Sena seats and we will retain them.
Q. What about Mahim?
A. Sada Sarvankar is facing anti-incumbency, he has switched parties so many times. Amit Thackeray is a newcomer who’s entered the poll fray at the last minute without home work. A three-way fight will help us reclaim our bastion of Dadar-Mahim.
Q. The Dharavi Redevelopment Project has been a big issue for the MVA. Are you seeing any impact on the ground?
A. Dharavi redevelopment is not just an issue in Dharavi but an issue in at least six assembly segments. All seats where hundreds of acres of land have been given free to the Adani Group and where Dharavi residents will be sent, will vote against MahaYuti.
This issue is not just restricted to Dharavi but it is an issue in Kurla, Malad West, Mulund, Ghatkopar, Shivaji Nagar-Mankhurd.