As Sena and MNS were busy spinning Marathi vs Gujarati tales, they forgot to focus on other communities that have sizeable population in Mumbai
It wasn't just the committed Marathi and Gujarati voters that gave the BJP the edge. A section of south-Indian, north-Indian and Sindhi communities ensured that the BJP clinched the numero uno slot from Sena in Mumbai.
Of the 15 seats won by the BJP in Mumbai, only Malabar Hill, Dahisar and Charkop have a sizeable population of Gujarati-speaking voters – the numbers are equal or closer to their Marathi counterparts. In rest of the assembly segments, barring Ghatkopar West and Mulund seats, the BJP succeeded due to voters from north and south India, Sindhis, Christians and a mix of cosmopolitan voters besides Gujaratis.
In Mulund and Ghatkopar West, the dynamics were different where BJP candidates Sardar Tara Singh and Ram Kadam respectively capitalised on their excellent grassroots connection with the locals.
Experts and politicos said even though the Shiv Sena and MNS targeted the Gujarati community during the campaign, their history of tirade against south Indians and north Indians also affected their prospects. Out of the seats won by BJP, 10 constituencies are such where the number of north and south Indian voters along with Gujarati electors is greater than that of Marathis.
Add to this, young voters from Marathi community, especially those from higher middle class, too expressed faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for helping the BJP form government in the state. This brought down further the number of people voting for Shiv Sena and MNS, experts think.
"Cutting across caste and creed, the youth voted for Modi. His appeal to have the same party governments at the Centre and state to attain development worked. Besides, the other communities, higher middle-class Marathi voters too were fascinated by Modi's development talk, and the cumulative effect was BJP's success," pointed out Sandeep Pradhan, senior assistant editor of Marathi daily Lokmat.
Captain Tamil Selvan, BJP's newly-elected legislator from Sion-Koliwada, seconded Pradhan. He added that besides the history of Shiv Sena's initial anti-south Indian stand, the Congress's alleged poor performance was the reason why the new age south Indian voters chose to side with the BJP in the city.
"There are around 20 lakh south Indians in Mumbai. Earlier, they would favour Congress, but they did not get the desired results. The change of heart occurred during Lok Sabha election when Modiji meant only business. Once the faith in BJP grew, nearly 90 percent of south Indian voters have voted for us in assembly polls. Anti-Congress sentiments, lack of faith in regional parties plus the development talk helped us improve our tally" said the MLA.
"North-Indians and others who were being opposed earlier by Sena felt that by voting Sena, they would not get any support from them in future. Hence, they thought of aligning with the BJP. That is the reason they have won so many seats in Versova, Andheri and other places where these communities have bigger presence," said Manoj Singh Rajput, spokesperson of Bihar Foundation, Mumbai Chapter.
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