Medha Patkar's entry makes Mumbai North East battle 'interesting'

MUMBAI: When her candidature was first announced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from Mumbai’s North-East constituency a few weeks back, no one gave Medha Patkar much of a chance. After all, BJP’s Kirit Somaiya had lost the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from this constituency by just 2,933 votes to NCP’s Sanjay Dina Patil, and that too, because MNS candidate Shishir Shinde split the Sena-BJP votes by cornering 1.95 lakh votes.

This time though, with no MNS in the fray, it was expected that Somaiya will have an easy ride. But Patkar’s entry changed all that, with many saying the polls are too close to call. “The main battle is between Somaiya and Patkar. She has a groundswell of support and it won’t be a surprise if Patkar actually wins,” said Kumar Ketkar, Chief Editor of Dainik Divya Marathi.

What works to Patkar’s advantage is her work among slum dwellers, and out of the 16 lakh voters in this constituency, there are 2 lakh slum dwellers living in the Mankhurd- Shivaji Nagar belt, where Patkar has done considerable work.

It’s not just the slum dwellers, but residents of housing colonies as well as minority community members are embracing the social activist. “We have decided to support Patkar because she has a clean image. She has been working for the people not just for the sake of elections, but has dedicated her life to it,” said Nawazish Khan, a software engineer from Vikhroli.

But Somaiya isn’t perturbed by the growing support for Patkar, saying there’s no contest when a ‘Modi wave’ is on. “A recent survey has shown that 62% of the people would vote for BJP, and in another two weeks, the number will be 80per cent,” said Somaiya.