Lok Sabha elections 2019: Congress’ Milind Deora hopes for comeback against Shiv Sena

Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Arvind Sawant and Congress candidate Milind Deora slugged it out in Mumbai South which registered 50.34% voting on Monday. Mumbai South was one of the remaining 17 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra that went to polls on April 29; the state, which has 48 seats has already seen voting in the past three phases of the ongoing seven-phased general elections.

Voters complained of missing names and malfunctioning EVMs. No incident of violence was reported.

Among the six assembly seats that are part of Mumbai South, the Shiv Sena tends to fare well in Shivadi and Worli while the Congress may do well in Byculla and Mumbadevi. The deciding vote may go to upscale Malabar Hill assembly segment. The area has strong Bharatiya Janata Party presence and voted in favour of the saffron combine in 2014. Whether Malabar Hill continues to support the BJP or responds to Deora’s appeal to make south Mumbai business friendly will have impact on the outcome of the election.

Reliance Industries Limited chairman Mukesh Ambani had endorsed Deora’s candidature last week. In a video shared by Deora on his Twitter handle, Ambani, also a South Mumbai resident, described him as “the man for South Mumbai”.

The Congress used to enjoy stronghold in the constituency as Deora’s father Murli Deora was four-term MP from the seat. Milind Deora too is a two-time MP from the constituency before being defeated by Sawant in 2014.

In the Muslim-dominated Bhendi Bazaar area of the constituency, 27 families of Zainabia building had to return without casting their vote on Monday as they could not find their names in the voters’ list. A large number of Kolis (fishermen) from Worli boycotted polling protesting against the coastal road project along the west coast of the city. The entire Koliwada has about 63,000 voters.