Mumbai: The biggest political battle is going to be fought in the Worli Assembly constituency in this election. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has asked his party workers to ensure that its candidate Sandeep Deshpande defeats his nephew and Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Aaditya Thackeray at any cost.
“Aapan Worli Jinkalich Pahije (We must win Worli),” Raj reportedly told the MNS workers soon after his nominated Deshpande for the high-profile seat.
There may be a family rift or a calculated political risk behind Raj’s Worli gambit. This move will definitely intensify the family feud but if the MNS could win this battle that will give the party a much-desired fillip ahead of the municipal elections.
According to sources, Thackeray had directed his sainiks to do a survey of Worli constituents and understand the problems faced by locals. However, for the past three months, the MNS has been actively engaging with the local community in Worli through a series of dialogue programs.
“Sandeep Deshpande has been actively campaigning since June, noting down the concerns of the residents to address them, is most likely to remain the face of the party in Worli against Aaditya Thackeray. Following which he was being nominated by MNS chief, Raj Thackeray,” said a source.
Worli is a hub of several business, along with the costliest properties and several tenements (chawls) in dilapidated condition. A section of the voters believes that Aaditya’s ‘vision’ for developing Worli could be his biggest plus point.
Deshpande pointed that people living in these dilapidated chawls are awaiting redevelopment. “These are Bombay Development Department [BDD] chawls and police colonies. There are slum rehabilitation projects on hold, several redeveloped buildings are yet to provide monthly rentals to residents. Aaditya Thackeray has not visited the residents in the last five years and is not easily accessible to people,” he said.
In the Lok Sabha election held in May, the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Arvind Sawant had secured a margin of 6,715 votes in Worli Assembly segment. The MNS sees this as a great opportunity to make inroads in the constituency.
“In 2017 municipal corporation polls, MNS secured around 30,000 votes from Worli. This is a good reminder that we have dedicated to MNS in this constituency,” Deshpande said.
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