South Mumbai voters focus on issues instead of 'wave' this time

The Modi wave that induced excitement in the 2014 election seems to have fizzled out this time in south Mumbai. Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant, it is believed, made won in 2014 due to the Modi wave. However, things are not the same this time. The polling percentage was 52.15% in 2019. It was 52.05% in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Voters from the constituency kept in mind various factors -- development, security, clean candidate, ideology and accessibility of their MP.

"This election will be a referendum of sorts for the PM. We are a Congress family and last time we had voted for BJP. However, we felt that his performance was not up to the mark," said Sharon Pereira, a resident of Cuffe Parade.

Unlike Sharon, there were many others who felt that Modi should be given another chance. "I think he needs to be given another term. Corruption and money evasion needs to be tackled and we need a clean government," said Krishnamoorthy Srinivas, a resident of Cuffe Parade.

While this was the case in tony areas of the constituency, in Marathi heartland, things were a little different. The MNS which is not contesting votes this time around is campaigning for the Congress. "The voting is as it used to be. The votes here are divided as per parties. There are votes of Shiv Sena, MNS and also few of NCP. This time some of the Sena votes may go the other way. The MNS votes may go to Sena or Congress," said Nitish Jadhav, a resident of Kalachowkie.

At Worli Koliwada, some residents threatened to boycott the polls due to the Coastal Road project. "The enthusiasm is less as compared to 2014. For MLA, the area saw over 80 per cent voting. This time it was over 30 % till 3 pm," said a resident.

Polling

• 52.15%