Amid alliance tussle over Maharashtra seats, BJP searches for new face in North Central

“The delay in declaring the candidate for Mumbai North Central is an indication that the party is seriously considering finding an alternative candidate,” a BJP insider said.

BJP sources hinted at anti-incumbency as one of the reasons for the party’s hesitation on re-fielding Mahajan, as well as “the changed political equations in the constituency” after the split in the Shiv Sena making the BJP vulnerable here.

Among the names doing the rounds as Mahajan’s replacement is BJP Mumbai president and sitting Bandra West MLA Ashish Shelar, who is seen as a strong contender against Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena, given his strong network across communities and religious groups. He has been proactive and vocal in raising issues important to the constituency and Mumbai at large.

However, not all agree on this. “Moving Shelar to Delhi is not a good idea. With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls ahead, Shelar should remain in Mumbai politics,” a BJP leader said.

So far, the BJP has announced 24 Maharashtra candidates, while Shinde’s Sena has announced eight and Ajit’s NCP just one.

According to party insiders, Shinde had attempted to recruit former Congress MP Priya Dutt for the Mumbai North Central seat, which she had won in 2009 but lost to Poonam Mahajan in 2014 and 2019. However, there was no response from the Dutt camp.

Earlier, in January, the Shinde Sena had got a prize catch when it managed to woo to its side former Congress Union minister and ex-Mumbai South MP Milind Deora. Soon after, Deora was made a Rajya Sabha MP.

Then, former Congress leader and ex-Bandra West MLA Baba Siddique joined Ajit’s NCP in February, underlining the Mahayuti’s intent to weaken the Congress in the Mumbai region.

With its sizeable Christian and Muslim populations, the diverse and cosmopolitan Mumbai North Central seat was earlier a challenge for right-wing parties. In recent polls, the BJP had won thanks to alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena helping it corner the Marathi vote bank, apart from the Modi appeal. However, with the Sena split, the BJP is not sure how the Marathi vote stands.

Over the last decade, the seat has also undergone a considerable makeover, particularly due to the emergence of the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).

Vote shares in Mumbai North Central.

The daughter of late BJP leader and former Union minister Pramod Mahajan, Poonam won Mumbai North Central both in 2014 and 2019 comfortably, with 39.55% and 53.97% of the votes, respectively.

Taking into account the splits in the Sena and NCP, the six Assembly segments in the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat – Vile Parle, Chandivali, Kurla, Kalina, Bandra East and Bandra West – are currently divided between the BJP (two seats), Shinde Sena (two seats), and one each for the Congress and Uddhav Sena.

Since Mumbai North Central was established in 1952, it has been a much sought after seat contested by many stalwarts. In 1973, veteran CPI leader Roza Deshpande won the seat. In 1972, the much-respected CPI leader Ahilya Rangnekar was the winner from here. The Janata Party’s Pramila Dandavate, wife of former Union minister Madhu Dandavate, won in 1980. As the Shiv Sena’s strength in Mumbai grew during the late 1980s and 1990s, its candidates Vidyadhar Gokhale and Narayan Athawale won the seat in 1989 and 1996, respectively.

In 1998, the president of the Republican Party of India and current Union minister of state, Ramdas Athawale, won from the seat. Then in 1999, former Shiv Sena CM and Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi was the winner. In 2004, the seat was won by Congress state minister Eknath Gaikwad.