MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 22: The Dalit votebank will determine which way the wind blows in the Mumbai North-East constituency. With nearly 3.80 lakh Dalit voters spread across the constituency and 4.25 lakh Muslim voters, a keen fight is in the offing between sitting MP and Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Pramod Mahajan and Gurudas Kamat of the Congress.Although the BJP is projecting an easy win for Mahajan, his main rival, Kamat, is no pushover. Mahajan won by a margin of over 1.89 lakh votes in the last elections largely due to a triangular contest between him, Kamat and the Republican Party of India's Ramdas Athavale. The 2.22 lakh votes in Athavale's favour spoiled the party for Kamat. This time round, the chances of a division of votes, both Muslim and Dalit, are less, due to the absence of a candidate from the RPI or Samajwadi Party. Both the parties are supporting Kamat.Mumbai North-East has never sent a candidate to Parliament twice in a row, with the exception of tubramaniam Swamy, who won ona Janata Dal ticket in 1977 and 1980. Apart from Dalits and Muslims, the constituency, mapping Kurla, Chembur, Trombay, Bhandup, Mulund and Ghatkopar, also has Gujaratis, Maharashtrians and Sindhis.Mahajan seems to hold an edge in the constituency, as six assembly segments that constitute this prestigious LS constituency are represented by Shiv Sena-BJP alliance MLAs. Two of them, Leeladhar Dake and Prakash Mehta, hold ministerial posts in the state cabinet. Also, 29 out of 54 BMC corporators in the constituency belong to the ruling alliance. However, this factor alone may not ensure a romp home for Mahajan, as Kamat had lost in 1989 to the BJP's Jaywantiben Mehta despite the Congress having all sitting MLAs and a majority of corporators in the constituency.What may work in Kamat's favour is the show of support he received at Ramabai Nagar, Ghatkopar, where 10 Dalits were killed in police firing following the desecration of Dr B R Ambedkar's statue on July 11, 1997. He may be able to swing a major chunkof over 50,000 voters from this area, who feel betrayed by the state government. The residents here also feel let down by Mahajan's absence from the constituency during the 18 months of his tenure as MP. Although he claims he visited the area as many as 56 times, his rivals say he came only once - to play dandia which was arranged by Kirit Somaiyya, the BJP's city unit president. Mahajan is also accused of making little use of the Rs 1-crore development fund for the constituency.But his supporters have a list of achievements - a computerised reservation centre at Ghatkopar station, road over bridges at Ghatkopar, Kurla and Mulund, a theatre at Vikhroli and increased FSI for Chembur, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli and other areas. However, Kamat too has laid claim to the same projects, saying they were sanctioned during his tenure.Realising the tough fight that lies ahead, the BJP and its ally, the Sena, are pulling out all stops to ensure Mahajan's victory. Sources say deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde luredCongress leader Dina Bama Patil to the BJP for this purpose. Ironically, Bama's wife Manorama and son Kamlakar, both corporators, are campaigning for Kamat.Kamat accuses the Sena-BJP government of making false promises on the Slum Redevelopment Scheme. Another issue on the top of his agenda is the completion of the Mahanagar Gas project, which he kicked off, but which was not followed up after Mahajan took over.Also in the fray are known candidates like former BJP MLA Wamanrao Parab (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and Vilasrao Gaud (Bahujan Samaj Party). Another hopeful is stock broker Pradeep Bhavnani, who plans to address problems faced by investors, as he feels no party has done that so far.The main problems faced by the area include inadequate water supply, a rise in prostitution, increasing traffic problems, pollution and underworld activities. However, none of these issues find mention in either of the star candidates' campaigns.
