As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections draw near, a number of sitting corporators or known faces of parties jumped ship to another party because either they or their kin were denied tickets for the civic polls. DNA takes a look at the battles they face in their respective constituencies.
Waqarunissa Ansari, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), ward number 223 (Imamwada)
A Congress corporator for over 10 years, Waqarunissa was also with the Samajwadi Party (SP). She left the Congress to join the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) this time as the party denied her a ticket. She will be testing the waters against Dnyanraj Nikam’s daughter Nikita Nikam, who is contesting on behalf of the Congress. The SP’s Nida Shahid Shaikh is also contesting the polls from the area. Locals say that the non-Mulsim votes in the constituency will play a part in deciding who wins the seat and Muslim votes alone will not be the deciding factor. Muslim voters, who will play a crucial role, are yet to make up their mind on which way to go. The presence of non-Muslim votes might, in all likelihood, push the minority community to vote for the person best suited to win the seat defeating a Right-wing candidate.
Mangal Bhanushali, Shiv Sena, ward number 131 (Shashtri Nagar, Ghatkopar East)
A senior BJP worker who headed the Gujarati cell for the BJP and a former corporator from another ward, Bhanushali will be trying his luck from a new ward and a new party. He will be contesting against sitting NCP corporator Rakhi Jadhav and former BJP corporator Bhalchandra Shirsat, among others. The constituency has a mix of Marathi, Gujarati, Marwari and north-Indian voters. The Sena is looking to wrest the seat on the basis of anti-incumbency, strength of the party’s vote bank and garnering votes of Bhanushali’s community.
Ashraf and Dilshad Azmi, candidate of Congress (ward number 165 and 167 - Kurla)
Corporators from the SP until recently, Ashraf and his wife Dilshad joined the Congress when they were denied a ticket. Ashraf and Dilshad represent constituencies that have a large number of Muslim voters, though the SP is a challenge, as is the case with new entrant AIMIM. The elections will test their personal strengths in the election. The constituency also has north-Indian voters. AIMIM, which has been taking out a number of rallies, has been attacking both the Congress and SP for ‘fooling’ the community members.
Riddhi Khursunge and Prakash Darekar, candidates from Sena and BJP, ward number 11 (Kajupada, Borivali East))
Both Riddhi Khursunge and Prakash Darekar have quit their parties and will be contesting from the same ward. They are locked in a fight against each other, apart from against Rajesh Manohar Kasar of the MNS and Krishnaji Bhaurao Rane of the NCP. While Khursunge represented the seat as an NCP member, she is contesting this time on a Sena ticket. Darekar, who was with the MNS till recently, also as a corporator, has moved to the BJP.
Noman Rayeen, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen, ward number 213 (Kamathipura)
Noman Rayeen is a first-time contestant, whose father is Nizamuddin Rayeen, who was the minority cell chief of the Congress. Nizamuddin left the party when his son was denied a ticket. His rivals are Congress candidate Javed Juneja, who earlier represented a different seat, and the SP’s Wasim Sayeed. Here, too, Muslims are undecided about which side they are likely to swing to entirely. Noman got his candidature amid protests from AIMIM workers. However, he and his party are banking heavily on the appeal of the Owaisi brothers.
Tejasvini Ambole, BJP, ward no. 203 (Parel-Lalbaug)
The wife of Sanjay ‘Nana’ Ambole, Tejasvini is a BJP candidate. Her husband left the Shiv Sena when his wife was denied a ticket. Days before the civic elections, the entry of her and her husband is said to have given the BJP a Marathi presence in the Parel-Lalbaug belt. The elections will test the ground support that Nana Ambole enjoys because he is someone who grew up the ranks of the party, while the Sena has given a ticket to someone who is from the party rank.
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 "Nana Ambole with Tejasvini Ambole")
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