Lok Sabha Elections 2024: This time in Mumbai, Marathi vote holds key

For the first time in the past 15 years the election has pivoted towards Marathi votes with prominent parties granting tickets to 10 Marathi candidates out of 12 While MVA is vying for all six seats with Marathi candidates Mahayuti has put forward four In 2009 and 2014 only six candidates 50 per cent were Marathi in 2019 seven Marathi candidates contested in the national polls According to data Marathi voters comprise 37 per cent of Mumbairsquos electorateIn Mumbai there are six Lok Sabha seats with a direct contest between Maha Vikas Aaghadi and MahaYuti With the exception of the North and North East constituencies all four remaining seats will witness battles between Marathi candidates Piyush Goyal in the North and Mihir Kotech in the North East are the sole nonMarathi contenders in the primary frayMarathi candidatesThe splitting of Shiv Sena has already made an impact on the vote bank Even the entry of MNS into Mahayuti at the last moment underlines the importance of the Marathi vote bank in this election Congress which previously adopted a mix of Marathi and nonMarathi candidates has now allocated both tickets to Marathi candidates Meanwhile the BJP unveiled both nonMarathi candidates in the initial list for Maharashtra candidates in March Subsequently the party attempted to restore balance by nominating a Marathi candidate aiming to prevent any polarisation of votes based on languageldquoThere isnrsquot a Marathi vs NonMarathi issue Itrsquos a conspiracy by UBT Sena to propagate mass delusion We wonrsquot tolerate injustice against Marathi people while simultaneously ensuring fair treatment for Gujarati constituents Whenever nationalist sentiments rally behind Modi and BJP UBT Sena attempts to fragment the votesrdquo remarked Ashish Shelar President of Mumbai BJPPolitical analyst Prakash Akolkar said ldquoThe outcome of the Mumbai regionrsquos election significantly hinges on Marathi votes In this election the deliberate allocation of tickets aimed to fragment or polarise Marathi votes Even the Congressrsquos decision to field a Marathi candidate in the North constituency stands out as somewhat unusualrdquoNon Marathi candidatesPiyush Goyal BJP and Mihir Kotecha BJPKishori Pednekar a spokesperson for Shiv Sena UBT said ldquoOur Shiv Sena has consistently championed the cause of Marathi people and the Marathi language The candidates fielded by other parties merely pay lip service to Marathi interests Itrsquos not just Marathi voters everyone is fed up with the BJP government and this sentiment will reflect in the pollsrdquoManisha Kayande of Shiv Sena emphasised ldquoShiv Sena has always stood firm for the rights of Marathi people ensuring that our candidates represent their interests While BJP being a national party has fielded both Marathi and nonMarathi candidates I donrsquot believe itrsquos a deliberate strategyrdquoMarathi Vs GujaratiThough the issue was raised by MNS and Shiv Sena in the past Congress never took part in the controversy This time MNS and Shinde Sena which are along with BJP didnrsquot utter a word on the issue and instead Mumbai Congress Chief has supported Marathi in the cityEntry of MNS but no ticketEntry of MNSat the last moment underlined the fact that the election is based on fetching Marathi votes MNS had fetched over lakhs of votes in every constituency in 2009 resulting in the loss of all six candidates of SenaBJP In 2014 the votes were reduced to half and MNS stayed out of the election in 2019 MNS has a base of Marathi voters But there isnrsquot a single candidate of the party in the electionPast ElectionsIn 2009 Out of 12 candidates six were MarathiMarathi Ram Naik BJP Gajanan Kirtikar SS Sanjay Patil Congress Eknath Gaikwad Congress Suresh Gambhir SS Mohan Rawle SSNonMarathi Sanjay Nirupam Congress Gurdas Kamat Congress Priya Dutt Congress Mahesh Jethmalani BJP Kirit Somaiya BJP Milind Deora CongressElected two Marathi MPsIn 2014 Out of 12 six were Marathi candidatesMarathi Gajanan Kirtikar SS Poonam Mahajan BJP Sanjay Patil Congress Arvind Sawant SS Rahul Shewale SS Eknath Gaikwad CongressNonMarathi Gopal Shetty BJP Sanjay Nirupam Congress Gurudas Kamat Congress Priya Dutt Congress Kirit Somaiya BJP Milind Deora CongressElected four Marathi MPsIn 2019 Out of 12 seven were Marathi candidatesMarathi Urmila Matondkar Congress Gajanan Kirtikar SS Poonam Mahajan BJP Sanjay Patil Congress Arvind Sawant SS Rahul Shewale SS Eknath Gaikwad CongressNonMarathi Gopal Shetty BJP Sanjay Nirupam Congress Priya Dutt Congress Manoj Kotak BJP Milind Deora CongressElected four Marathi MPsIn 2024 Out of 12 ten are Marathi candidatesMarathi Bhushan Patil Congress Amol Kirtikar SS UBT Ravindra Waikar SS Ujjwal Nikam BJP Varsha Gaikwad Congress Arvind Sawant SS UBT Rahul Shewale SS Anil Desai SSUBT Yamini Jadhav SS Sanjay Patil SS UBTNonMarathi Piyush Goyal BJP Mihir Kotecha BJP6No of LS seats in Mumbai