By Mamta Sen
Url: http://www.covertmagazine.com/cover-story2.html
Mumbai: They shop in London and Paris. They wear international designer watches, use only the best perfumes and watches, and dine out every night. They spend lavishly on looking beautiful and spend time in five-star gyms and beauty salons. They are international citizens and travel to exotic islands for holidays and weddings. They love luxury cars, the more expensive the better, and own properties across the globe. They walk only on treadmills, and fly only first class. They are India’s rapidly growing billionaires who work hard and party harder.Chhaya Momaya is one such very successful and rich woman from Mumbai. One hesitates to call her a billionaire as she makes it clear she does not like such tags. But she comes from a rich family from Burma, her father owned a fleet of ships, and is married into a Mumbai-based rich and successful family. Chhaya describes herself as a “life coach, grooming and image consultant”. She works on grooming and etiquette with corporates — she was in Delhi as a guest of FICCI — models, actors, airline crews, beauty pageant contestants and pop stars. And has been doing so for the last 20 years. Her list of clients are many, including names such as Ulysse Nardin watches, Christian Dior, La Prairie skincare, Hummer Parfum, Agent Provocateur Parfum, Hugo Boss, YSL Perfume. The list is long and very “rich”.Chhaya is one of the few exceptionally successful women willing to be interviewed about her lifestyle. She is all over the rich and beautiful scene, with magazines commenting on her designer dresses, and carrying interviews quoting her on etiquette and grooming. Chhaya Momaya talked to Covert. Excerpts from the interview:Q: How do you begin your day, what is the first thing you do?A: The first thing I do when I get up is pray…Q: What is your routine on an average day? A: My daily routine begins with a prayer. I get up before sunrise and do my exercises. I love to devote time to my family and the next few hours are devoted to taking care of their daily needs like breakfast, as I believe food is the most important source of energy. After my family I then move on to check my appointments with my office. Since I deal in a variety of things, from launching high-end luxury products in India to being an image consultant for celebrities, I generally have to be well aware of my schedule. I also handle individual brands and was recently involved in the launch of high-profile stores. Due to the high-profile clients my timings are usually flexible and I can work according to my own rules. At times, I may be working till 2 a.m., whereas at other times I might not have anything to do.Q: Where do you shop? A: New York and Paris are my favourites.Q: Who are your favourite designers? A: I like shopping at Madison Avenue and Saks. In fact, I generally prefer staying close to Madison Avenue in New York. In Paris, there is this French Village with genuine Parisian trends. I generally prefer my evening gowns from Dolce Gabbana. I also love Moschino, Armani. In Indian wear I wear only Rohit Bal. There is no benchmark as to whether I purchase my designer stuff based only on exorbitant prices or otherwise. I only go by the need of the hour.Q: Do you like entertaining, attending parties? How often? A: I do not prefer attending parties except of a select few, but I love entertaining. Personally, I prefer a select group to a big crowd. But of course once a year I throw a party where I invite everyone; but usually, at my lunch and dinner parties, I invite just a select few. Women often need to get away from their busy lives and find some time for themselves.Q: Do you like dining out, what are your favourite haunts?A: I love eating out, especially French, Japanese and Mediterranean cuisine. In Mumbai, I prefer the Taj Hotel since they have the kind of cuisine I am fond of. Generally, whenever I travel, I prefer to book my restaurants in Paris and New York. I believe in trying out different cuisines and follow the rule that any food tastes better when you have had it 17 times.Q: Do you feel education is important? A: Definitely. Education is an important aspect of life. The education I prefer is usually self-taught and that with hands-on experience. Travelling is another different kind of education and I believe everyone needs to invest in travelling since that opens up various different avenues of life [¼]RICH TO RICHER IN MUMBAIIN MUMBAI A cup of tea at a five-star hotel costs Rs 350 plus taxes. A facial package at a salon used by celebrities starts at Rs 40,000 and can exceed Rs 1 lakh.A haircut at Parwane, a favourite with the city’s rich and beautiful, costs Rs 10,000 plus.The health club package at a five-star hotel begins at Rs 50,000 plus taxes. But a top of the class private gym, which has a long waiting list, costs Rs 1.25 lakh per year and offers facilities around the globe.A Hugo Boss fragrance begins from Rs 3,000. Limited editions come for Rs 5,000 plus. A Tom Ford limited edition is Rs 25,000. A Canali Black Diamond fragrance, a growing favourite, costs Rs 5 lakhs.Branded skincare products that the billionaires use begin at Rs 30,000 for a small bottle; a La Prairie bottle costs Rs 60,000. An Indian designer outfit begins from Rs 50,000.A clutch bag by Valentino, or Gucci, or Chanel begins from Rs 1 lakh plus.Coloured diamonds — pink, blue and green — that are becoming very popular cost a minimum of Rs 10 lakhs each.A first class air ticket to Paris costs Rs 5 lakhs.
Monday, November 9, 2009
GHOSTS OF MAHARASHTRA
by Mamta Sen
Delimitation, in which close to 90 of Maharashtra's 288 Assembly seats have disappeared into other constituencies, has given a new shape to the 13 October elections. Of these, 11 seats are thought to be crucial in their potential to determine which alliance will form the next Government and which party will have the upper hand in that alliance. So all the four major parties, the NCP, the Congress, the Shiv Sena and the BJP have fought acrimonious battles against their poll partners to get their candidates contest these "winning" seats. Some of these constituencies have also seen inner-party squabbles, dissidence and desertions, threatening to mar the prospects of the official candidates.
Apart from this are at least four more constituencies that have seen Congress and NCP fighting each other like bitter foes, delaying the announcement of their seat-sharing arrangements and the announcement of their respective lists.
In an election shaken by innumerable imponderables, the bitter tension between allies is likely to be a bigger problem than the conventional enmity between foes.
"MISSING" CONSTITUENCIES THAT HAVE SPELT TROUBLE FOR NCP AND CONGRESS
NEHRUNAGAR: Maharashtra Labour Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik's traditional seat has merged with Kalina, which is Congress leader Kripashankar Singh's turf. Singh won the fight against Malik and will contest from Kalina.
KURLA: Minister of State for Home and Congress leader Naseem Khan's constituency is now a reserved SC seat. Since Congress grabbed Kalina, in return NCP ensured Kurla West was given to its Ravindra Pawar. This is a good seat for both parties because it has a majority of Muslim and Dalit voters. Naseem Khan has been accommodated elsewhere.
ROHA: Power Minister and NCP leader Sunil Tatkare was displaced from this seat in Raigad after it merged with Srivardhan. The Congress-NCP dispute over Srivardhan stemmed from the fact that it is considered to be a stronghold of Congress leader A.R. Antulay. Tatkare has finally managed to wrest this seat from the Congress.
MALSHIRAS: Former Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Vijay Singh Mohite Patil's constituency has vanished courtesy delimitation. Mohite Patil will now contest from Pandharpur, but this became possible only after Sharad Pawar himself pacified sitting MLA Baban Shinde who threatened to contest the elections as an Independent. Shinde was shifted to Madha. That has not stopped NCP workers from openly protesting Mohite Patil's nomination.
TASGAON: Former Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader R.R. Patil's traditional constituency has disappeared from the electoral map. The NCP has decided that he will contest from neighbouring Kavathe Mahankal, although the Congress was not particularly keen to surrender this seat.
GADHINGLAJ: Speaker and NCP leader Babasaheb Kupekar's seat has vanished and merged with neighbouring Chandgad. The Congress put up a tough fight for this seat, so much so that the NCP thought of shifting Kupekar to Kolhapur. The seat has finally gone to Kupekar.
MAZGAON: This constituency held by the Shiv Sena has now merged with another constituency, Byculla. Both the Congress and the NCP were claiming this seat. Byculla has finally gone to Madhu Chavan of Congress.
UMERKHADI [MUMBAI]: This Muslim-dominated seat has merged with Khetwadi and Nagpada to form the constituency Mumbadevi. Both NCP and Congress leaders view this as a winning seat. The NCP put a lot of pressure on the Congress on behalf of its candidate Bashir Patel, but the seat went to Amin Patel of Congress. Bashir Patel has left the NCP to contest on behalf of the Samajwadi Party, which is a part of the Third Front in Maharashtra.
"MISSING" CONSTITUENCIES THAT HAVE SPELT TROUBLE FOR SENA AND BJP
DADAR: A Shiv Sena stronghold, this constituency has ceased to exist post its merger with Mahim. Sitting Shiv Sena MLA from Dadar, Sada Sarvankar wanted a ticket from Mahim, which he was denied. So his supporters vented their ire by attacking Sena leader Manohar Joshi's house. The Mahim seat has gone to Marathi TV star Aadesh Bandekar. Sarvankar has left the Shiv Sena and joined the Congress in the presence of Narayan Rane. He is now Congress' candidate from Mahim. This has left Congress' Ajit Sawant, who had been promised the seat, fuming. Last heard, Manohar Joshi's son invited Ajit to his home to console him.
KHED: Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam's constituency has merged with Guhagar and Kadam has been given a ticket from Guhagar. This has led to a near spilt within the Sena-BJP ranks as Guhagar has been an RSS-BJP bastion since 1972.
OPERA HOUSE: This seat has disappeared into three constituencies. A chunk of Opera House has gone to Malabar Hill. A fight had started for Malabar Hill between BJP's Shaina N.C. and sitting BJP MLA Mangalprabhat Lodha, which the latter won.
THE CONGRESS and the NCP might have agreed to share seats, but both sides admit that differences continue in even those constituencies that remain unaffected by delimitation. The fight continued till the end, with some candidates eventually contesting as rebels when they were not given the seats of their choice. The Congress claimed Bandra West for its candidate Baba Siddiqui, but not after the NCP gave it a tough fight. The NCP tried its best to search for an acceptable Muslim face for the seat.
Both Anushaktinagar and Mankhurd have sizeable Dalit and Muslim voters and are strong seats for both parties and negotiations for these went on for a long time. Labour Minister Nawab Malik, who was ousted by Congress' Kripashankar Singh from Kalina, has been accommodated in Anushaktinagar. Mankhurd has gone to sitting MLA Sayyad Ahmed of Congress.
The newly created constituency of Dindoshi, over which a fight broke out between the NCP and the Congress, has been won by the Congress. The party has given a ticket to first-timer Rajhans Singh, Leader of the Opposition in the BMC. This has angered NCP corporator Ajit Raorane who has been nurturing the area for the last eight years and who was promised an NCP ticket in these elections. Raorane burnt effigies of Sonia Gandhi and Vilasrao Deshmukh to voice his protest and said he would contest as an Independent.
ALL MINORITY dominated reserved seats are swing seats in Maharashtra. This time round the MNS and Third Front will play a major role, especially in constituencies like Thane and Nashik where the Congress is expected to lose votes to the MNS. The Congress needs to win seats in Pune, Nashik and Thane to further its hope of coming back to power. In Vidarbha, the Mayawati factor is of some concern to both the NCP and Congress.
A major fight has broken out between the Shiv Sena and the BJP over the Guhagar Assembly seat. This was allotted to Shiv Sena's Ramdas Kadam who was left without a seat as his Khed constituency in Konkan was wiped out because of delimitation. Khed was a major loss for Kadam who has held the seat since 1990, winning every successive election. He is also regarded by the Shiv Sena as the only strong candidate capable of taking on former Sainik and rebel Narayan Rane on his home turf in Konkan. Kadam lobbied aggressively for Guhagar and Uddhav Thackeray managed to convince the BJP top brass to part with the seat. The decision, however, has led to a revolt in the BJP-RSS that wanted their three-term MLA Vinay Natu to contest from Guhagar.
Vinay Natu vowed that he would not work for Kadam and has now formed his outfit Shridhar Sena. Speaking to Covert from Guhagar he said that he would contest the elections as an Independent. "The Guhagar constituency has been with the Jan Sangh since 1972, then the Janata Party, followed by the BJP and later the BJP-Sena alliance. It has been a stronghold of the RSS for years and I am appalled that none of the party seniors informed me of this decision. They didn't even suggest that I contest from some other seat," he complained. He pointed out that his supporters had suggested that he start his own organisation and name it after his father. He insisted that the BJP and the RSS would be campaigning for him and not Kadam. As for joining the Congress-NCP alliance, he said that he had no plans for this at the moment. "I do not have any enemies now, only friends. Now that I am no longer with the BJP even the Congress and the NCP have promised me their support and I am sure to win this seat on my own strength," he said.
BJP leaders spoke openly of differences with the Shiv Sena. However, BJP leader Gopinath Munde asserted that the alliance would work as one, irrespective of some differences. "It is election time and we have to concentrate on what is at hand than focus on petty issues," he said. BJP state president Nitin Gadkari agreed. "The alliance will continue as one. We can't do much about the rebels, but this happens in every election," he said.
NCP LEADERS like Vijaysingh Mohite Patil, Ramraje Nimbalkar, Babasaheb Kupekar and R.R. Patil who lost their constituencies in the delimitation, have angered their close colleagues in their hunt for alternative seats. Mohite Patil and Ramraje Nimbalkar saw their respective constituencies reserved for Scheduled Caste [SC] candidates. Mohite Patil scored by putting a close aide as the candidate for the reserved seat, but now faces dissidence in Pandharpur.
The NCP is taking such rebellion seriously as it cost them two prestigious seats in western Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections. Former NCP loyalists Raju Shetty and Sadashiv Mandalik were denied tickets, contested as Independents and were elected from Kolhapur and Hatkanangale respectively in western Maharashtra. Shetty started his own party, the Swabhimaani Party and is now a part of the Third Front.
Former Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil lost his position after the Mumbai terror attacks, and his traditional constituency Tasgaon because of delimitation. Tasgaon has merged with Kavathe Mahankal. Patil, or Aba, as he is fondly called in party circles, has been representing Tasgaon since 1990. For a while, a race was on for Kavathe Mahankal between NCP's two Patils - Aba and Jayant Patil, the present Home Minister. Jayant Patil's constituency Walwa has been restructured and named Islampur. The NCP was planning to drop him and give the seat to a new face from the Muslim community. Jayant Patil finally managed to get nominated from Islampur and R.R. Patil got Kavathe Mahankal.
NIZAMUDDIN RAYEN, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee spokesperson said that 35 of the 60 constituencies in the Mumbai-Thane-Konkan belt are dominated by North Indians, both Hindus and Muslims. "Delimitation has changed a lot and for the Congress to come back to power it should think of considering allotting a minimum of 12 seats to minority candidates, at least in Mumbai," he said. The Congress has given five seats to Muslim candidates.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray chose the day of Eid in Mumbai to announce his first list of candidates for the Assembly polls. The MNS is contesting 147 seats and claims it will win at least 20. "I am not in competition with the Shiv Sena. This is rubbish," said Raj Thackeray and added that he was not perturbed by the rebels within MNS. "Where will the rebels go? What will they rebel about? I don't give tickets just by listening to my so-called friends. In fact I do not have any friends in the party. They are all my colleagues," he said.
All political parties are faced with rebellion in the ranks. The NCP and Congress leaders were shuttling between Mumbai and New Delhi till very late, as they were not even certain about an acceptable seat-sharing pact. The BJP and the Shiv Sena announced the list of candidates at the beginning of Navaratri and are facing full-blown revolts. The Third Front - a conglomeration of 18 national, state and regional political parties - was reluctant to release its list of candidates for fear of dissent and discord within. However, discord was out in the open even before the list was released and Rajendra Gavai belonging to one of the RPI factions left the Third Front over Ram Vilas Paswan's inclusion in the Front. The Congress has allotted three seats to Gavai's party.
THE NCP and Congress have found it extremely difficult to contest these elections together, with both suspicious of the other's intent. Congress leaders point out that the party decided to go along with the NCP largely because of the emergence of the Third Front. A top party functionary told Covert, "The alliance with the NCP is only to beat the Third Front candidates in rural Maharashtra. Neither party wants to take any chances at this stage."
The Congress leaders in charge of Maharashtra, Vyalar Ravi, Margaret Alva and A.K. Antony are barely able to communicate with the local unit and as leaders in Maharashtra pointed out, "They can barely speak in Hindi or understand us when we speak." Former Congressman Govindrao Adik, who defected to the NCP, pointed out that the Congress leaders in Maharashtra preferred taking their orders from Delhi and were unable to take any decisions on their own. He pointed to the prolonged seat-sharing talks with the NCP, saying that this gave the Opposition a head start in the State. "Unlike Sharad Pawar, who gives his State leaders complete freedom to make decisions, the Congress leaders have to run to Delhi for every single thing. This happened in the past and continues even today. There is not a single Congress leader in Maharashtra who can stand up and take a concrete decision on his own," Adik said.
Adik, presently a Rajya Sabha member, firmly believed that the Congress was striving hard to finish the NCP. "First they spread the news of the merger and then the prolonged meetings on the candidates' list. They should know by now that the NCP is a separate party. We already have a presence in 14 States and have representatives at all levels," he said, brushing aside rumours that the Third Front was the brainchild of Sharad Pawar and is intended to damage Congress prospects in the State. "Pawar himself was a part of the Third Front earlier during the Lok Sabha elections because he wanted to keep the secular forces together and had made this quite clear to the Congress high command," Adik said. He further pointed out that the NCP would have joined the Third Front, but this would have damaged its credibility at this stage.
The NCP has played mind games with the Congress, bargaining shrewdly for seats. For instance, the NCP decided to claim Nehrunagar, which has now merged into Kalina, for its MLA Nawab Malik, even though MRCC president Kripashankar Singh had made it clear that he wanted to contest the elections from there. Singh was so furious that he walked out of the negotiations with the NCP. The latter agreed to surrender the seat, but only for three others in its stead. It is fielding Muslim candidates from these seats.
The NCP has also started attacking the Muslim candidates being fielded by the Congress. This will be part of a larger strategy, but to begin with, the party issued statements in leading Marathi newspapers, openly opposing the Congress decision to field MLA Baba Siddiqui who, the NCP claimed, had mafia links. The statement, its leaders claim, was issued only after sensing the general discontent in the Bandra West Assembly constituency that Siddiqui is contesting.
THE THIRD Front, comprising largely of Dalit and Muslim political parties, is fast taking a concrete shape. Their main issues relate to political empowerment of Dalits and Muslims, as well as their security. The alliance also plans to raise the issue of arrest of Muslim youth by the Anti Terrorism Squad in Maharashtra, lack of justice and other such concerns during the campaign.
The Front has come out in support of the candidature of Kalavati Bandurkar, a widow from Vidarbha who was made famous by Rahul Gandhi in a speech in Parliament. Kalavati is supported by the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti and is contesting from Wani in Yavatmal in spite of poor health and severe criticism from her family members and villagers who did not want her to contest out of gratitude to Rahul Gandhi.
Jayant Patil, president of Peasants and Workers Party, believes that this is not the first time that the Third Front has managed to make news. "Back in 1995 there was an alliance between the RPI, Janata Dal, PWP and the Communists and around 27 MLAs were elected. Then in 1999 we went in alliance with the NCP to bring them to power. We believe that we shall play a vital role again," he said. Ram Vilas Paswan who has just joined the alliance demanded six seats but has been given four Assembly segments: Buldana, Bhandup [West], Worli and Jalgaon.
RPI leader Ramdas Athavale who is heading the Third Front, said that they would be contesting all 288 seats and that the alliance would play a major role in electing the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra. "We plan to win at least 50 seats and swing 10%-12% of the Congress votes in our favour," he said, pointing out that this was not the first time that the RPI would be shaping the politics of Maharashtra. "In 1967, Labour Union leader Datta Samant and Vasudeorao Deshmukh, a Brahmin, had won their elections on RPI tickets," he said. "It is a myth that all Brahmins have gone to Mayawati," he added.
MLC Kapil Patil, who is the president of Lok Bharti, a Third Front ally, was of the view that the third alternative would be a formidable force in the State elections. "We have built a space to prove to the voters that a third alternative is there and is permanent in its objective," he said. His party will contest ten seats in western Maharashtra and three in Mumbai. The party has nominated cricketer Vinod Kambli, a Dalit, from Vikhroli to prove that it is serious. Patil said that the Front would cause major upsets by defeating the main parties in Thane, Ulhasnagar, Vasai, Ratnagiri, the tribal belt of Vidarbha, Nagpur, Nashik, Malegaon, Dhule, Mira Bhayander and Bhiwandi.
Meanwhile, Prakash Ambedkar's Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh has floated a Fourth Front and announced 126 candidates. The Front has around 12 political groups including the UDLF of Assam.
Kishore Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti though was certain that the Congress would return to power. He said that the hostile Opposition would ensure this. "BJP's Gopinath Munde raises his voice only during elections. The Congress has a mass base of Dalits and Muslims who will support the party," he said.
Mohan Prakash, AICC observer for Maharashtra, agreed: "The Third Front is of no importance. They will eventually join the Congress. These are all pressure tactics" [¼]
Delimitation, in which close to 90 of Maharashtra's 288 Assembly seats have disappeared into other constituencies, has given a new shape to the 13 October elections. Of these, 11 seats are thought to be crucial in their potential to determine which alliance will form the next Government and which party will have the upper hand in that alliance. So all the four major parties, the NCP, the Congress, the Shiv Sena and the BJP have fought acrimonious battles against their poll partners to get their candidates contest these "winning" seats. Some of these constituencies have also seen inner-party squabbles, dissidence and desertions, threatening to mar the prospects of the official candidates.
Apart from this are at least four more constituencies that have seen Congress and NCP fighting each other like bitter foes, delaying the announcement of their seat-sharing arrangements and the announcement of their respective lists.
In an election shaken by innumerable imponderables, the bitter tension between allies is likely to be a bigger problem than the conventional enmity between foes.
"MISSING" CONSTITUENCIES THAT HAVE SPELT TROUBLE FOR NCP AND CONGRESS
NEHRUNAGAR: Maharashtra Labour Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik's traditional seat has merged with Kalina, which is Congress leader Kripashankar Singh's turf. Singh won the fight against Malik and will contest from Kalina.
KURLA: Minister of State for Home and Congress leader Naseem Khan's constituency is now a reserved SC seat. Since Congress grabbed Kalina, in return NCP ensured Kurla West was given to its Ravindra Pawar. This is a good seat for both parties because it has a majority of Muslim and Dalit voters. Naseem Khan has been accommodated elsewhere.
ROHA: Power Minister and NCP leader Sunil Tatkare was displaced from this seat in Raigad after it merged with Srivardhan. The Congress-NCP dispute over Srivardhan stemmed from the fact that it is considered to be a stronghold of Congress leader A.R. Antulay. Tatkare has finally managed to wrest this seat from the Congress.
MALSHIRAS: Former Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Vijay Singh Mohite Patil's constituency has vanished courtesy delimitation. Mohite Patil will now contest from Pandharpur, but this became possible only after Sharad Pawar himself pacified sitting MLA Baban Shinde who threatened to contest the elections as an Independent. Shinde was shifted to Madha. That has not stopped NCP workers from openly protesting Mohite Patil's nomination.
TASGAON: Former Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader R.R. Patil's traditional constituency has disappeared from the electoral map. The NCP has decided that he will contest from neighbouring Kavathe Mahankal, although the Congress was not particularly keen to surrender this seat.
GADHINGLAJ: Speaker and NCP leader Babasaheb Kupekar's seat has vanished and merged with neighbouring Chandgad. The Congress put up a tough fight for this seat, so much so that the NCP thought of shifting Kupekar to Kolhapur. The seat has finally gone to Kupekar.
MAZGAON: This constituency held by the Shiv Sena has now merged with another constituency, Byculla. Both the Congress and the NCP were claiming this seat. Byculla has finally gone to Madhu Chavan of Congress.
UMERKHADI [MUMBAI]: This Muslim-dominated seat has merged with Khetwadi and Nagpada to form the constituency Mumbadevi. Both NCP and Congress leaders view this as a winning seat. The NCP put a lot of pressure on the Congress on behalf of its candidate Bashir Patel, but the seat went to Amin Patel of Congress. Bashir Patel has left the NCP to contest on behalf of the Samajwadi Party, which is a part of the Third Front in Maharashtra.
"MISSING" CONSTITUENCIES THAT HAVE SPELT TROUBLE FOR SENA AND BJP
DADAR: A Shiv Sena stronghold, this constituency has ceased to exist post its merger with Mahim. Sitting Shiv Sena MLA from Dadar, Sada Sarvankar wanted a ticket from Mahim, which he was denied. So his supporters vented their ire by attacking Sena leader Manohar Joshi's house. The Mahim seat has gone to Marathi TV star Aadesh Bandekar. Sarvankar has left the Shiv Sena and joined the Congress in the presence of Narayan Rane. He is now Congress' candidate from Mahim. This has left Congress' Ajit Sawant, who had been promised the seat, fuming. Last heard, Manohar Joshi's son invited Ajit to his home to console him.
KHED: Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam's constituency has merged with Guhagar and Kadam has been given a ticket from Guhagar. This has led to a near spilt within the Sena-BJP ranks as Guhagar has been an RSS-BJP bastion since 1972.
OPERA HOUSE: This seat has disappeared into three constituencies. A chunk of Opera House has gone to Malabar Hill. A fight had started for Malabar Hill between BJP's Shaina N.C. and sitting BJP MLA Mangalprabhat Lodha, which the latter won.
THE CONGRESS and the NCP might have agreed to share seats, but both sides admit that differences continue in even those constituencies that remain unaffected by delimitation. The fight continued till the end, with some candidates eventually contesting as rebels when they were not given the seats of their choice. The Congress claimed Bandra West for its candidate Baba Siddiqui, but not after the NCP gave it a tough fight. The NCP tried its best to search for an acceptable Muslim face for the seat.
Both Anushaktinagar and Mankhurd have sizeable Dalit and Muslim voters and are strong seats for both parties and negotiations for these went on for a long time. Labour Minister Nawab Malik, who was ousted by Congress' Kripashankar Singh from Kalina, has been accommodated in Anushaktinagar. Mankhurd has gone to sitting MLA Sayyad Ahmed of Congress.
The newly created constituency of Dindoshi, over which a fight broke out between the NCP and the Congress, has been won by the Congress. The party has given a ticket to first-timer Rajhans Singh, Leader of the Opposition in the BMC. This has angered NCP corporator Ajit Raorane who has been nurturing the area for the last eight years and who was promised an NCP ticket in these elections. Raorane burnt effigies of Sonia Gandhi and Vilasrao Deshmukh to voice his protest and said he would contest as an Independent.
ALL MINORITY dominated reserved seats are swing seats in Maharashtra. This time round the MNS and Third Front will play a major role, especially in constituencies like Thane and Nashik where the Congress is expected to lose votes to the MNS. The Congress needs to win seats in Pune, Nashik and Thane to further its hope of coming back to power. In Vidarbha, the Mayawati factor is of some concern to both the NCP and Congress.
A major fight has broken out between the Shiv Sena and the BJP over the Guhagar Assembly seat. This was allotted to Shiv Sena's Ramdas Kadam who was left without a seat as his Khed constituency in Konkan was wiped out because of delimitation. Khed was a major loss for Kadam who has held the seat since 1990, winning every successive election. He is also regarded by the Shiv Sena as the only strong candidate capable of taking on former Sainik and rebel Narayan Rane on his home turf in Konkan. Kadam lobbied aggressively for Guhagar and Uddhav Thackeray managed to convince the BJP top brass to part with the seat. The decision, however, has led to a revolt in the BJP-RSS that wanted their three-term MLA Vinay Natu to contest from Guhagar.
Vinay Natu vowed that he would not work for Kadam and has now formed his outfit Shridhar Sena. Speaking to Covert from Guhagar he said that he would contest the elections as an Independent. "The Guhagar constituency has been with the Jan Sangh since 1972, then the Janata Party, followed by the BJP and later the BJP-Sena alliance. It has been a stronghold of the RSS for years and I am appalled that none of the party seniors informed me of this decision. They didn't even suggest that I contest from some other seat," he complained. He pointed out that his supporters had suggested that he start his own organisation and name it after his father. He insisted that the BJP and the RSS would be campaigning for him and not Kadam. As for joining the Congress-NCP alliance, he said that he had no plans for this at the moment. "I do not have any enemies now, only friends. Now that I am no longer with the BJP even the Congress and the NCP have promised me their support and I am sure to win this seat on my own strength," he said.
BJP leaders spoke openly of differences with the Shiv Sena. However, BJP leader Gopinath Munde asserted that the alliance would work as one, irrespective of some differences. "It is election time and we have to concentrate on what is at hand than focus on petty issues," he said. BJP state president Nitin Gadkari agreed. "The alliance will continue as one. We can't do much about the rebels, but this happens in every election," he said.
NCP LEADERS like Vijaysingh Mohite Patil, Ramraje Nimbalkar, Babasaheb Kupekar and R.R. Patil who lost their constituencies in the delimitation, have angered their close colleagues in their hunt for alternative seats. Mohite Patil and Ramraje Nimbalkar saw their respective constituencies reserved for Scheduled Caste [SC] candidates. Mohite Patil scored by putting a close aide as the candidate for the reserved seat, but now faces dissidence in Pandharpur.
The NCP is taking such rebellion seriously as it cost them two prestigious seats in western Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections. Former NCP loyalists Raju Shetty and Sadashiv Mandalik were denied tickets, contested as Independents and were elected from Kolhapur and Hatkanangale respectively in western Maharashtra. Shetty started his own party, the Swabhimaani Party and is now a part of the Third Front.
Former Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil lost his position after the Mumbai terror attacks, and his traditional constituency Tasgaon because of delimitation. Tasgaon has merged with Kavathe Mahankal. Patil, or Aba, as he is fondly called in party circles, has been representing Tasgaon since 1990. For a while, a race was on for Kavathe Mahankal between NCP's two Patils - Aba and Jayant Patil, the present Home Minister. Jayant Patil's constituency Walwa has been restructured and named Islampur. The NCP was planning to drop him and give the seat to a new face from the Muslim community. Jayant Patil finally managed to get nominated from Islampur and R.R. Patil got Kavathe Mahankal.
NIZAMUDDIN RAYEN, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee spokesperson said that 35 of the 60 constituencies in the Mumbai-Thane-Konkan belt are dominated by North Indians, both Hindus and Muslims. "Delimitation has changed a lot and for the Congress to come back to power it should think of considering allotting a minimum of 12 seats to minority candidates, at least in Mumbai," he said. The Congress has given five seats to Muslim candidates.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray chose the day of Eid in Mumbai to announce his first list of candidates for the Assembly polls. The MNS is contesting 147 seats and claims it will win at least 20. "I am not in competition with the Shiv Sena. This is rubbish," said Raj Thackeray and added that he was not perturbed by the rebels within MNS. "Where will the rebels go? What will they rebel about? I don't give tickets just by listening to my so-called friends. In fact I do not have any friends in the party. They are all my colleagues," he said.
All political parties are faced with rebellion in the ranks. The NCP and Congress leaders were shuttling between Mumbai and New Delhi till very late, as they were not even certain about an acceptable seat-sharing pact. The BJP and the Shiv Sena announced the list of candidates at the beginning of Navaratri and are facing full-blown revolts. The Third Front - a conglomeration of 18 national, state and regional political parties - was reluctant to release its list of candidates for fear of dissent and discord within. However, discord was out in the open even before the list was released and Rajendra Gavai belonging to one of the RPI factions left the Third Front over Ram Vilas Paswan's inclusion in the Front. The Congress has allotted three seats to Gavai's party.
THE NCP and Congress have found it extremely difficult to contest these elections together, with both suspicious of the other's intent. Congress leaders point out that the party decided to go along with the NCP largely because of the emergence of the Third Front. A top party functionary told Covert, "The alliance with the NCP is only to beat the Third Front candidates in rural Maharashtra. Neither party wants to take any chances at this stage."
The Congress leaders in charge of Maharashtra, Vyalar Ravi, Margaret Alva and A.K. Antony are barely able to communicate with the local unit and as leaders in Maharashtra pointed out, "They can barely speak in Hindi or understand us when we speak." Former Congressman Govindrao Adik, who defected to the NCP, pointed out that the Congress leaders in Maharashtra preferred taking their orders from Delhi and were unable to take any decisions on their own. He pointed to the prolonged seat-sharing talks with the NCP, saying that this gave the Opposition a head start in the State. "Unlike Sharad Pawar, who gives his State leaders complete freedom to make decisions, the Congress leaders have to run to Delhi for every single thing. This happened in the past and continues even today. There is not a single Congress leader in Maharashtra who can stand up and take a concrete decision on his own," Adik said.
Adik, presently a Rajya Sabha member, firmly believed that the Congress was striving hard to finish the NCP. "First they spread the news of the merger and then the prolonged meetings on the candidates' list. They should know by now that the NCP is a separate party. We already have a presence in 14 States and have representatives at all levels," he said, brushing aside rumours that the Third Front was the brainchild of Sharad Pawar and is intended to damage Congress prospects in the State. "Pawar himself was a part of the Third Front earlier during the Lok Sabha elections because he wanted to keep the secular forces together and had made this quite clear to the Congress high command," Adik said. He further pointed out that the NCP would have joined the Third Front, but this would have damaged its credibility at this stage.
The NCP has played mind games with the Congress, bargaining shrewdly for seats. For instance, the NCP decided to claim Nehrunagar, which has now merged into Kalina, for its MLA Nawab Malik, even though MRCC president Kripashankar Singh had made it clear that he wanted to contest the elections from there. Singh was so furious that he walked out of the negotiations with the NCP. The latter agreed to surrender the seat, but only for three others in its stead. It is fielding Muslim candidates from these seats.
The NCP has also started attacking the Muslim candidates being fielded by the Congress. This will be part of a larger strategy, but to begin with, the party issued statements in leading Marathi newspapers, openly opposing the Congress decision to field MLA Baba Siddiqui who, the NCP claimed, had mafia links. The statement, its leaders claim, was issued only after sensing the general discontent in the Bandra West Assembly constituency that Siddiqui is contesting.
THE THIRD Front, comprising largely of Dalit and Muslim political parties, is fast taking a concrete shape. Their main issues relate to political empowerment of Dalits and Muslims, as well as their security. The alliance also plans to raise the issue of arrest of Muslim youth by the Anti Terrorism Squad in Maharashtra, lack of justice and other such concerns during the campaign.
The Front has come out in support of the candidature of Kalavati Bandurkar, a widow from Vidarbha who was made famous by Rahul Gandhi in a speech in Parliament. Kalavati is supported by the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti and is contesting from Wani in Yavatmal in spite of poor health and severe criticism from her family members and villagers who did not want her to contest out of gratitude to Rahul Gandhi.
Jayant Patil, president of Peasants and Workers Party, believes that this is not the first time that the Third Front has managed to make news. "Back in 1995 there was an alliance between the RPI, Janata Dal, PWP and the Communists and around 27 MLAs were elected. Then in 1999 we went in alliance with the NCP to bring them to power. We believe that we shall play a vital role again," he said. Ram Vilas Paswan who has just joined the alliance demanded six seats but has been given four Assembly segments: Buldana, Bhandup [West], Worli and Jalgaon.
RPI leader Ramdas Athavale who is heading the Third Front, said that they would be contesting all 288 seats and that the alliance would play a major role in electing the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra. "We plan to win at least 50 seats and swing 10%-12% of the Congress votes in our favour," he said, pointing out that this was not the first time that the RPI would be shaping the politics of Maharashtra. "In 1967, Labour Union leader Datta Samant and Vasudeorao Deshmukh, a Brahmin, had won their elections on RPI tickets," he said. "It is a myth that all Brahmins have gone to Mayawati," he added.
MLC Kapil Patil, who is the president of Lok Bharti, a Third Front ally, was of the view that the third alternative would be a formidable force in the State elections. "We have built a space to prove to the voters that a third alternative is there and is permanent in its objective," he said. His party will contest ten seats in western Maharashtra and three in Mumbai. The party has nominated cricketer Vinod Kambli, a Dalit, from Vikhroli to prove that it is serious. Patil said that the Front would cause major upsets by defeating the main parties in Thane, Ulhasnagar, Vasai, Ratnagiri, the tribal belt of Vidarbha, Nagpur, Nashik, Malegaon, Dhule, Mira Bhayander and Bhiwandi.
Meanwhile, Prakash Ambedkar's Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh has floated a Fourth Front and announced 126 candidates. The Front has around 12 political groups including the UDLF of Assam.
Kishore Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti though was certain that the Congress would return to power. He said that the hostile Opposition would ensure this. "BJP's Gopinath Munde raises his voice only during elections. The Congress has a mass base of Dalits and Muslims who will support the party," he said.
Mohan Prakash, AICC observer for Maharashtra, agreed: "The Third Front is of no importance. They will eventually join the Congress. These are all pressure tactics" [¼]
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