Raj Thackeray might have to reconsider his stance against the North Indians as wooing them might prove to be a trump card for the state assembly election due to be held in 2009.
Raj Thackeray might have to reconsider his stance against the North Indians as wooing them might prove to be a trump card for the state assembly election due to be held in 2009.
The assembly constituencies in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, and Pune districts have become hot spots owing to the redrawing of the state’s political map. And these constituencies have a sizeable population of migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and also other parts of the country.
With the new boundaries being implemented, North Indian migrants will hold the key to victory in at least half of the 76 urban constituencies in these four districts.
In the last two decades since 1981, the North Indian population in Mumbai, Thane, and surrounding regions has gone up to about 66 lakh. The community has a sizeable presence in some existing as well as new constituencies such as Dadar, Dharavi (SC), Kurla, Bandra, Amboli, Andheri, Santa Cruz, Kalina, Goregaon, Malad, Kandivli, Borivli, Thane, Belapur, and Ambarnath. Some of these constituencies have been strongholds of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.
Former minister and Congress MLA Kripashankar Singh feels that the community is now in a position to influence the results in 27 assembly constituencies in Mumbai and Thane.
Some of the new constituencies to watch out for in terms of a sizeable North Indian presence are Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Mira-Bhayander, Ovala-Majiwada, Mumbra-Kalwa, Kopri-Panchpakhadi, Thane, Airoli, Dahisar, Jogeshwari, Dindoshi, Kalina, Anushakti Nagar, Mankhurd, Shivaji Nagar, and Sion Koliwada.
In the decade from 1991-2001, Mumbai and Thane have provided shelter to almost 22 lakh migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. As per the 2001 census, the maximum number of migrants from these three states, 10.8 lakh, arrived in Mumbai Suburban district as compared to 3.4 lakh in the island city and 7.7 lakh in Thane district.
But what has shaken the state BJP is the sudden increase in registration of new voters between 2006 and 2007. While 61,555 voters registered themselves in 2006, the number shot up to 4,41,105 in 2007. State BJP spokesman Madhav Bhandari has already demanded an inquiry into the summary revision of electoral rolls carried out by the Election Commission of India.
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