Mumbai, Jan 31 (IANS) Relatives of politicians as well as mafia dons and scores of rebels are in the fray for the Feb 16 polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), one of the biggest and richest civic bodies in the country, after close of nominations here Tuesday.
A 21-year-old college student Anusha Kodam, doing her final year in Biotechnology, has been nominated as Shiv Sena candidate from Ward 176.
Relatives of mafia dons – at least four – are also in the fray, though they (the relatives) have clean police records.
They include Sunita Chavan, sister of absconding don Chhota Rajan Nikhalje, Sabba Reddy Bora, brother of jailed gangster D.K. Rao and a protege of Nikhalje. Both have been given tickets by Republican Party of India, a constituent of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance.
There is also Geeta Gawli, daughter of former mafia don Arun Gawli, currently in jail, and his sister-in-law Vandana Gawli, who are in the fray along with another two dozen candidates of Akhil Bharatiya Sena.
While Bora claims to have an impressive following in the Mahim-Dharavi area, the Nikhaljes have a strong base in Tilak Nagar-Chembur area, besides the Gawlis in south Mumbai’s Mazagaon and surroundings.
Plagued by rebellion, all the major political parties, Shiv Sena, BJP, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena postponed or cancelled announcing their final lists of candidates till the close of nomination filing deadline Tuesday evening.
This afforded a field day to many hopefuls who jumped into the electoral battle as independents or rebels, giving jitters to the official candidates of all the parties.
Insiders in different parties revealed that the party leaders were overwhelmed with more than 500 claimants for each seat in the BMC, and expect more than 200 rebels across parties and twice the number contesting as independents for the 227 seats in the BMC.
Heading the list of concerned people is none other than Shiv Sena mayor Shraddha Jadhav, who faces formidable party rebel Mangesh Satam as an independent, BJP’s city president Raj Purohit’s daughter-in-law Hema Purohit and city BJP leader Parag Alvani’s wife Jyoti, who are contesting as rebels.
The Congress, grappling with the defectors to the NCP, is expecting a large number of rebels contesting as independents for BMC polls.
Unprecedented for the MNS, applicants who appeared for exams and interviews and were denied tickets, virtually laid siege to party chief Raj Thackeray’s residence Monday.
While the SS-BJP-RPI alliance worked in Mumbai, it did not materialize in other cities like Pimpri-Chinchwad and Aurangabad, while the Congress-NCP alliance also had its share of hiccups on the critical issue of seat-sharing.
However, top leaders of all the political parties put up a brave face and claimed that they were not worried about rebels or independents.
While the final list of candidates – after withdrawals and rejections of applications – will be available only Friday (Feb 3), police have their hands full.
“We shall strictly monitor the situation during the electioneering and take action against anybody violating the laws, however powerful he/she may be,” said an official of the state intelligence department.
