Anti-PM sentiment rings out in Mankhurd and Shivaji Nagar, minority vote may split

MUMBAI: It was the final bell by the returning officer in 2009 Parliamentary elections when he ordered counting of votes for Shivaji Nagar-Mankhurd areas in

Mumbai North-East constituency

. And what followed was a historic win by NCP candidate

Sanjay Dina Patil

who overshot his rival, BJP’s Kirit Somaiya by just 2,933 votes in the Muslim-dominated pockets.

The Muslim votes of Shivaji Nagar-Mankhurd areas have always been a “game-changer” for

Lok Sabha polls

. Of the approximately three lakh

Muslim voters

across the constituency, a majority are in the thickly populated pockets of Lotus Colony, Bainganwadi, Cheetah Camp, Lallubhai Compound and Zakir Nagar. And this time, most locals who spoke to TOI expressed anti-Modi sentiments, but there was also a fear of votes being split with a significant number of Muslims vouching for Congress-NCP, while an equally good number supporting Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Sanjay Singh, who has an alliance with Samajwadi Party.

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, which comprises AIMIM, is also making inroads in these pockets and will eat into this votebank. “It will not be a one-sided voting this time, and there are various factions wooing Muslims,” said a political observer, adding that BJP candidate Manoj Kotak stands to gain from any vote split as it will eat into NCP’s “crucial” Muslim votebank. The NCP manifesto to scrap triple talaq ordinance may also make a difference in the voting pattern, sources said.

“I have decided to vote for anyone who can defeat Modi,” said Syed Bashir Hasan Rizvi, a Govandi resident. “I don’t mind voting for Congress (NCP in this constituency) as it has not done anything extraordinary, but also not done anything bad.” Former MLA and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik claimed that neither VBA nor SP-BSP alliance will dent Congress-NCP Muslim votes. “As we near the poll day (April 29), the confusion is getting cleared. Our secular votes are intact,” said Malik.

Mohammed Qureshi, who works in scrap business in Bainganwadi, said he owes allegiance to Shiv Sena and many like him have joined the party lately. “We will ensure the BJP-Sena win in Muslim areas this time.”

SP spokesperson Ayub Shekason said people are generally “angry” with some of the policies of the present government. “The candidate who promises to defeat BJP will be favoured here among minorities,” he claimed. SP state chief and MLA from Govandi Abu Asim Azmi regretted that, despite his repeated requests to Congress for an alliance, his offer was rejected and he had to tie up with BSP. “If secular votes are split, Congress will held responsible,” he said.

RPI (A) president of Mumb-ai Pradesh Gautam Sonawane, who lives in Govandi, said the Dalits will vote for the BJP. Manoj Singh, a resident, said there were 40,000 north Indian voters like him in the area who would vote either for BJP or BSP.

Former MLA Sohail Lokhandwala who has been campaigning for Congress-NCP candidates summed up the Muslim mood. “There may be many grievances against Congress-NCP, but Muslims are looking at these polls in national perspective and conclude that defeating BJP must be the sole agenda as it has not been fair to them. The community is united and will vote en-block to defeat the BJP.”