Ujjwal Nikam and Varsha Gaikwad.
Credit: X/@miujjwalnikam, @VarshaEGaikwad
Mumbai: If Mumbai is 'mini India', then the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat is 'mini Mumbai', home to film stars and celebrities living in posh areas like Bandra and Khar as well as migrants and labourers living in the bylanes of Kurla.
The constituency is spread across areas like Vile Parle, Chandivali, Bandra, Kalina and Kurla.
Parts of the constituency boast of some of the costliest homes and land parcels, while several areas are teeming with shanty towns that stand testimony to Mumbai's reputation as the city of dreams and one of the country's migrant magnets.
Among the constituency's population of 17.44 lakh are cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
The BJP has fielded renowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who was the special public prosecutor in some of the country's most high-profile terror and crime cases including the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the trial of the 26/11 Mumbai attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab.
Nikam is making his poll debut against the Congress' Mumbai unit chief and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen candidates are also in the fray.
Senior Congress leader Naseem Khan was keen to contest from Mumbai North Central but was overlooked by the party. He has refused to campaign for the party.
The constituency was a Congress stronghold before the BJP's Poonam Mahajan wrested it in 2014 on the back of the 'Modi wave'. She retained the seat in 2019.
The Lok Sabha seat has more than 6 lakh Marathi speakers, around 3 lakh people from northern states, over 1 lakh from the southern part of the country and nearly 1.9 lakh originally from Gujarat and Rajasthan as well as more than 3 lakh Muslims.
Traffic congestion, infrastructure woes and pollution are some of the issues in the constituency. Grand schemes like slum rehabilitation, metro rail project and deployment of AC local trains are in the works.
Nikam said his entry into politics marks the beginning of his second innings.
'I want to work towards framing laws for the better future of people and also amend extradition laws to ensure more criminals are brought back to the country to face justice,' he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership is vital for the country's progress and development.
The Congress' Varsha Gaikwad said the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are a fight to save democracy and the Constitution.
Gaikwad said her experience as the Mumbai Congress chief is coming in handy in her campaign.
She started her campaign by calling on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, who asked his party cadre to ensure her win.
The Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are INDIA bloc allies.
As part of its campaign, the BJP is highlighting Nikam as the man who sent Kasab to the gallows.
Congress supporters said Gaikwad is the ideal candidate to reclaim the seat for the party.
Most of the Shiv Sena members who played a big role in the BJP's victories in 2014 and 2019 stayed back with Thackeray after the party split in June 2023 and these two factors will ensure that Mumbai North Central seat returns to the Congress, those involved in Gaikwad's campaign asserted.