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HomePoliticsFor Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena picks bastion that is 'representative of Mumbai'

For Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena picks bastion that is ‘representative of Mumbai’

Worli assembly seat, from where Aaditya Thackeray is set to contest, is a mix of high-rises, plush offices and slums. Sena has lost just once here in 30 yrs.

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Mumbai: A cluster of elite high-rises, plush offices, slums, chawls, mill workers’ residences, lower and middle-income group housing, the landmark Haji Ali Dargah and a vast coastline dotted with fisherfolk colonies — this, in a nutshell, is the assembly constituency of Worli that Shiv Sena leader and Yuva Sena Chief Aaditya Thackeray will mark his electoral debut from. His candidature also marks a transition within the Thackeray family from remote controlling the government and the party, which Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and his son Uddhav Thackeray did, to actively participating in elections.

Preparations to ensure Aaditya’s victory are already under way. The Shiv Sena has released a new song on Aaditya, glorifying the debutant as “a breath of fresh air in Maharashtra”, “the state’s new voice”, and a “sher” who has come to shape a new Maharashtra. The 29-year-old can be seen bowing down before a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji, interacting with different sections of the population and even genuflecting before the people from a dais.

Besides, the incumbent Shiv Sena MLA from the constituency, Sunil Shinde, who stepped aside to vacate the seat for the Yuva Sena chief, is actively coordinating Aaditya’s campaign along with senior leaders such as Union Minister and South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant, NCP-turned Shiv Sena leader Sachin Ahir, and Yuva Sena functionaries. Local leaders from all eight shakhas (administrative units) of the Shiv Sena in Worli and the party’s five municipal corporators from the assembly too have hit the ground running for what is touted to be its most prestigious contest.

The Thackeray scion, who was given a nomination form by his father, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, is likely to make a formal announcement regarding his candidature from Worli Monday evening at a gathering of Shiv Sena workers and functionaries at the Lala Lajpatrai College.


Also read: Shiv Sena & BJP need each other in Maharashtra, but it all boils down to who blinks first 


A Shiv Sena bastion

A senior Shiv Sena leader said the party expects the election to be a cakewalk for the Sena political scion. “There was a lot of geographic and political convenience in choosing the Worli assembly segment for Aaditya Thackeray’s electoral debut,” the leader said. “He is a star campaigner and will be touring the entire state for the poll campaign. Politically, Worli is a cakewalk for the Shiv Sena so it was an obvious pick over any other assembly seat in Maharashtra.”

He added that geographically, the constituency is close to Matoshree, the Thackeray residence in suburban Bandra, as well as Shiv Sena Bhavan, the Sena headquarters in Dadar, which will make it easier for him to keep an eye on the constituency.

The Shiv Sena has always had a stranglehold over Worli. The party has been winning civic elections here since its early days. On the assembly front, Shiv Sena’s Datta Nalawade held the Worli seat for four straight terms from 1990.

The seat slipped from Shiv Sena’s grip only once in 2009, post delimitation when parts of Worli and Sewri were rearranged as one constituency and Ahir, then with the NCP, snatched the seat from Shiv Sena’s Ashish Chemburkar.

The Sena won the seat back in 2014 with incumbent MLA Shinde trouncing Ahir by a margin of over 23,000 votes. With Ahir being the only serious threat to Shiv Sena’s sway over Worli, his entry into the Sena has nearly finished any opposition to the party in the constituency.

Moreover, currently all five councillor wards in the Worli assembly segment are with the Shiv Sena. The opposition is yet to announce its candidate for the seat.

“While Kalanagar, where Matoshree is located, and Dadar, where the Shiv Sena Bhavan is, are also safe seats of the Shiv Sena, there is much more scope for work in Worli the way the assembly seat is constituted,” said another Sena leader who did not wish to be named.

“It is in a way representative of Mumbai, having a bit of everything — offices, elite residences, slums, chawls, middle class population — that makes the city.”


Also read: When Shiv Sena ministers were told to remove Raj Thackeray’s photos from their cabins


On the cards — a separate manifesto for Worli

Shiv Sena leaders working on Aaditya’s campaign in Worli told ThePrint that they are working on a separate manifesto for the Yuva Sena president to take to the people of the constituency.

“It’s still at a preliminary stage but there are ideas such as having an ‘Aaditya friends’ portal for people to reach out to their prospective MLA,” a Sena leader said. “There are thoughts of having a separate job portal for youngsters in Worli.”

Another leader said all issues close to Aaditya’s heart that he has been highlighting in Mumbai such as public parks, walking tracks, recreational and sports facilities and so on will find a place in the manifesto.

Party workers said they have already started holding meetings with small groups of people across Worli’s high-rises and slums.

While opposition to the coastal road project, being implemented by the Shiv Sena-led Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, was a sticking point in the Worli constituency, party leaders say it won’t be a cause of concern for Aaditya’s election considering the Bombay High Court has already stopped work on the project for now.

While the Worli fisherfolk were especially up in arms against the coastal road project, saying it will hurt their livelihood, Aaditya’s visit to the Worli koliwada (fisherfolk colony) last month to celebrate their festival, ‘narali pournima,’ with them helped the Sena cut some ice with residents of the fishermen colony too.


Also read: Shiv Sena a paper tiger now, Uddhav Thackeray has no option but to accept BJP’s seat deal 


 

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