Jitendra Awhad has won Mumbra, a seat with a majority Muslim population, since 2009 but is now facing a challenge from his own former colleague
Mumbai: When Sharad Pawar joined a mega procession to accompany Jitendra Awhad for filing his nomination form, it was a signal to the cadre and the electorate---that Awhad had the full support and backing of the party and of Pawar, in particular. It was also a repeat of 2019 when the president of the undivided NCP was present alongside Awhad as he filed his nomination. This year, the symbolism of the gesture is even more. Especially since Awhad’s constituency Mumbra-Kalwa falls in Thane, the home district of Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde. And opposing Awhad is his former party colleague Najeeb Mulla who represents Ajit Pawar’s NCP.
It’s no secret that Awhad is favoured by his party leadership for his fiery ways and his success is winning the Mumbra constituency for his party since 2009. Once a student activist who had famously protested against a hike in college tuition fees in 1982, the MLA from Mumbra is fiesty, outspoken and blunt. He doesn’t shy away from controversies and enjoys a close rapport and unrestricted access to his party boss, Pawar. He’s among those who stayed loyal even when the party split in 2023.
While the party says that Pawar’s presence at the large procession is a way of acknowledging and appreciating the “nishthavant” leaders of the party, Awhad also represents the NCP (SP)’s outreach and support to the Muslim community, having represented Mumbra-Kalwa three times in the state assembly. The constituency has been held by the NCP since 2009 and is believed to have a 75 per cent Muslim population and political analysts say that they key to winning this seat is to have a leader who enjoys the Muslim and the Marathi vote. Which Awhad has proved for over 15 years now.
In 2014, Awhad polled more than 86000 votes which was greater than the collective tally of all 16 of his opponents. A few months before the elections, Pawar had spent an entire day in that constituency, meeting and energising the party cadre and inaugurating infrastructure development and beautification projects that were conceptualised by Awhad.
Apart from development works, Awhad is known for his blunt statements and vociferous support to the local community. Just before the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, he courted controversy by stating that Lord Ram ate beef.
This year, he challenged the Ghaziabad police to prove their claims that more than 400 children were being forcibly converted to Islam through gaming apps and the mastermind of the racket was allegedly in Mumbra. “Jitendra Awhad is a tireless voice for protecting the secular fabric of our state and our nation. When an elderly Muslim man was beaten up on a train to Mumbai on suspicions of carrying beef, it was his intervention that ensured the Railway Police cancelled the bail of the accused and charged them under mob lynching sections,” says Anish Gawande, national spokesperson of the NCP (SP).
It is said that until now, Shinde and Awhad had a tacit understanding for this constituency which falls under Shrikant Shinde’s Lok Sabha seat. But the Shinde-led Mahayuti is now on a mission to unseat Awhad and capture control of this constituency. Shinde is believed to have deputed several corporators and partymen to fan the area and drum up support. The contest also may not be a cakewalk with a former corporator and a Muslim leader fighting against Awhad.
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