A man arranges scarves of political parties at a shop, ahead of Maharashtra Assembly elections, in Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
Navi Mumbai: The four seats of the satellite township of Navi Mumbai is witnessing a cliffhanger situation with many rebels in the race.
The Navi Mumbai seats -- Airoli, Belapur, Panvel and Uran -- are spread in parts of Mumbai’s adjoining districts of Thane and Raigad and are some of the fastest-developing areas of Maharashtra.
The Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, popularly called MTHL or Atal Setu has connected the island city of Mumbai to Nhava Sheva across the harbour.
A lot of developments are happening in Navi Mumbai.
The Navi Mumbai International Airport is expected to be operational in a few months' time.
The Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) is expected to boost development in the Raigad district; there will be the larger MMR, the Third Mumbai -- a mega city after Mumbai --- the satellite township of Navi Mumbai, and there is also the proposed Konkan Coastal Road.
However, Navi Mumbai --- this area of coastal Konkan region -- has been politically volatile.
The prominent family from Navi Mumbai are the Naiks.
While veteran BJP’s Ganesh Naik, who is a five-time MLA, is seeking a sixth term from Airoli, he faces arch-rival Vijay Chougule, who is from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and turned rebel and M K Madhavi from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).
Naik’s son Sandeep Naik, a two-time MLA from Airoli, had rebelled following denial of ticket by BJP and joined the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP). He has been fielded from Belapur. He faces family political rival Manda Mhatre, the sitting BJP MLA and bureaucrat turned politician Vijay Nahata, a rebel of Shiv Sena.
“In the absence of any clear-cut political wave, it appears to be the rebels’ wave that is rocking the assembly election scenario in Maharashtra,” said Navi Mumbai-based independent political observer and writer B N Kumar.
Environment is a big issue in Navi Mumbai, the flamingo city. “The elected representatives seem to be hardly bothered about the all-round destruction under the guise of infrastructure development, let alone focusing on the lack of facilities for the people in general,” added Kumar, who is Director of NatConnect Foundation.
In Uran, Maha Yuti’s Mahesh Baldi of BJP faces two MVA candidates Manohar Bhoir of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Pritam Mhatre of Peasants and Workers Party.
In Panvel, Prashant Thakur of BJP is the Maha Yuti candidate and will also see MVA's Leena Garad of Shiv Sena (UBT), who is going against the Balaram Patil of PWP.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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