In Mumbai, the Marathis form 28 per cent of voter base and they have been mostly voting for Shiv Sena.
After a resounding defeat in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Mumbai Congress unit has decided to play the ‘Marathi’ card by fielding the Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar in the North Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency and appealing to the sentiments of the Marathi electorate. In Mumbai, the Marathis form 28 per cent of voter base and they have been mostly voting for Shiv Sena.
However, due to the increasingly weaning influence of the Congress among the Marathi voters, the party plans a change of strategy. Mumbai Congress President Milind Deora today visited the Hutatma Chowk memorial dedicated to the martyrs who died for the cause of a separate Marathi state. Deora has also started tweeting in Marathi which was not the set practice with his predecessor Sanjay Nirupam.
Deora in his first public address promised to address the issues of tenants and their redevelopment issues. He has also promised that he will push for Urmila Matondkar’s candidature for the North Mumbai seat.
Moreover, after meeting the Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Wednesday, Urmila Matondkar gave interviews to Marathi networks on Thursday explaining her logic of joining the Congress Her ease in speaking the language was easily noticeable. She openly quoted her allegiance to Shivaji as a Marathi to explain how determined she is to her new found political responsibility. A political observer told DNA that if Deora and Urmila break the Marathi citadel of Shiv Sena, then they will gain in ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
IN-DEPTH
In 2009, Congress won all six seats in the city. However, in 2014 the Congress-NCP combine lost all the seats in the city. In Mumbai, the Marathis form 28 per cent of voter base and they have been mostly voting for Shiv Sena.
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