As parties ready for the civic polls in Mumbai, the battle for Dadar is turning out to be a matter of pride for the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Despite having beaten the Sena 7-0 in the 2012 civic polls and hurting the party’s ego, the MNS may find itself struggling to repeat its performance. On the other hand, learning from its past mistakes, the Sena managed to snatch the Assembly seat in 2014, with Sada Sarvankar defeating MNS’s Nitin Sardesai, and plans to repeat the performance with increased strength.
The man whom the Sena is banking on to deliver results, besides its MLA and staunch Sena activist Sada Sarvankar, is former MNS zonal head Prakash Patankar, who recently switched sides. Such was the importance given to him that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray heard him out for over an hour. Mr. Patankar says he has promised to gift Dadar to the the Sena chief.
“Why should one even work in a party where there is no work, no encouragement and no motivation. I tried working hard for the party but someone else was grabbing the credit. The party chief chose to listen to them and I was the victim of dirty politics. Originally, I belong to the Sena and now I feel I am home,” Mr. Patankar said while talking to The Hindu . A grassroots worker, Mr. Patankar has taken upon himself to hand the Sena a complete victory.
Following delimitation, the Mahim Assembly seat covers six civic wards (182 and 190 to 194, which includes the ward where Sena Bhavan and MNS headquarter stand). Mr. Patankar has vowed to wipe the MNS out from all six wards, where the Raj Thackeray-led party has sitting corporators.
For the MNS, Mr. Patankar’s resignation from the party is not a big deal. “Ground-level activists stand firmly with Raj saheb and MNS. We have worked hard in each of the ward and I am sure people will reward us with their votes. His blabbering won’t have any impact on the result and we will retain all our seats,” said Sandip Deshpande, MNS corporator and party zonal head.
Dadar (Mahim assembly seat) stands more as a matter of pride than anything else, as this is the their birthplace of both parties: Shivaji Park has been hosting the Sena’s Dussehra rallies for more than 35 years now, while Raj Thackeray announced the formation of his party at a rally held at Shivaji Park a few years ago. Always known as the Sena’s citadel, it was first breached in 2009 when MNS candidate Nitin Sardesai snatched the seat from the Sena.
