Mumbai: Milind Deora, the Congress candidate for the Mumbai South constituency, is campaigning in the country’s economic powerhouse by getting businessmen across classes — shopkeepers to billionaire industrialists, including Mukesh Ambani and Uday Kotak — to endorse him.
The former Congress MP has released a campaign video on social media in which a bunch of entrepreneurs, right from a local paanwaala, a grocery store owner to banker Kotak and the country’s richest man, Ambani, wax eloquent about Deora.
From small shopkeepers to large industrialists – for everyone, South Mumbai means business.
We need to bring businesses back to Mumbai and make job creation for our youth a top priority.#MumbaiKaConnection pic.twitter.com/d4xJnvhyKr
— Milind Deora मिलिंद देवरा (@milinddeora) April 17, 2019
“Milind is the man for South Mumbai,” says Ambani, followed by Kotak adding, “Milind truly represents Mumbai ka connection.”
The campaign also attempts to sell Deora’s corporate connection to voters and indirectly criticises the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena on a familiar charge — lack of jobs. The video ends by saying ‘Milind = Business, Business = Jobs, Milind = Jobs.’
Deora, who was recently appointed the Mumbai Congress president, will take on sitting Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on 29 April, when the Mumbai South constituency votes. Sawant had crushed Deora in the 2014 Lok Sabha election by 1.28 lakh votes.
Also read: Making Milind Deora Mumbai Congress chief was a sensible decision, says Priya Dutt
Milind has in-depth knowledge of South Bombay: Ambani
Ambani, who is said to be close to the Deora family, appears in the video more than once.
“Having represented South Bombay for 10 years, I believe that Milind has in-depth knowledge of the social, economic and cultural ecosystem of the South Bombay constituency,” he says.
“I genuinely believe Milind understands this and correlates to a Mumbaikar,” Kotak adds. “His family has been associated with Mumbai for a long time.”
Deora is a two-term MP from Mumbai South, which is home to some of the city’s elite as well as slum-dwellers and has a significant presence of businessmen and traders. His father, Murali Deora, was a Union minister and a former Mumbai Congress president.
Do industrialists have vested interests?: Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande slammed the campaign, questioning why industrialists such as Ambani and Kotak are vouching for Deora.
“Do they expect any favours in return if Deora becomes the MP?” Kayande asked.
“For the past five years, Milind Deora was nowhere to be seen. As a Congress worker he should have been seen in public service,” Kayande said. “On the other hand, Arvind Sawant has always been in the constituency and been concerned about its development works.”
She added that what makes the Shiv Sena different is that all its 25 shakhas (branches) in South Mumbai work for the common voter and not just industrialists.
“When in need, for any big or small thing, people go to Shiv Sena shakhas for help,” she said. “Not to Milind Deora. Deora lives in his ivory tower. The Shiv Sena is on the streets.”
Also read: Congress makes Milind Deora chief of Mumbai unit, gives Sanjay Nirupam the seat he wants