Mumbai: Worli is slowly turning into a political battleground in the run up to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.
Worli comes under the Lok Sabha seat of Mumbai South.
The five other Assembly seats are Colaba, Byculla, Malabar Hill, Shivadi and Mumbaidevi.
Worli is represented by former minister and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, the son of Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray.
The Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat is represented by three-time MP Arvind Sawant, a close aide of the Thackeray family.
BJP-led Maha Yuti (NDA) hold the Colaba seat, represented by BJP's Rahul Narwekar, Malabar Hill, represented by BJP veteran Mangal Prabhat Lodha and Byculla, represented by Shiv Sena’s Yamini Jadhav.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.) commands Worli and two other seats Shivadi being represented by Ajay Choudhari of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Amin Patel of Congress.
Worli was a bastion of the undivided Shiv Sena and this time the contest could be interesting in the wake of the splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP.
While Aaditya is most likely to get a renomination, he faces challenge from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena as well as the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Raj, the estranged cousin of Uddhav, has made it clear that the alliance with NDA and support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi was limited to Lok Sabha polls and may field a candidate from this seat.
Raj’s close aide Sandeep Deshpande is the probable candidate from the seat.
On the other hand, Shiv Sena too seems to be keen and Shinde’s son and Kalyan MP Dr Shrikant Shinde is focusing here. The Shiv Sena too has many probables.
Former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, who led from the front during the Covid-19 pandemic, was a Corporator from Worli Koliwada.
“Despite having three MLAs, one MP, a former minister, and even a Mayor in the Worli constituency, the area saw no development during their tenure. While the son of the then-Chief Minister (Uddhav) and a sitting minister (Aaditya) were among the MLAs, Worli’s citizens were left neglected. Now, the people will ensure they are permanently sidelined,” Dr Shrikant Shinde said.
He said the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will address crucial issues, including those affecting Worli residents, the Koliwada community, BDD chawls, police colony redevelopment, and SRA and cess buildings.
"The previous government dismissed concerns about the Koliwada community, saying the question of expanding their space wouldn’t arise. However, after the government changed, the Chief Minister immediately resolved the issue, benefiting the Koli brothers," Dr Shrikant Shinde said.
He further asserted that the Shiv Sena is fully prepared to contest the upcoming assembly elections in Worli, expressing confidence that the next MLA will be elected under the bow and arrow symbol.
Raj too has a plan and has come out with Vision Worli. “For the past many years, the issue of BDD Chawl has been pending here, the issue of police colonies is pending, and the problems in Koliwada are similar. It hurts to see all this,” said Raj about his plans for Worli.
“Because you are voting for the same people and electing MLAs, MPs, then they will take you for granted,” he said, in what was his party’s intention to contest the polls.