The face-off between Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Rais Shaikh and sitting MLA and AIMIM candidate Waris Pathan is likely to create a divide among the Muslim voters in the Byculla constituency for the upcoming state Assembly elections. With the Congress keen on fighting the Byculla seat, Shaikh and Pathan will also have to compete with two-time Congress MLA Madhu Chavan and Shiv Sena candidate Yamini Jadhav.

Back in 2014, Pathan was the only Muslim candidate from a major political party in the fray and had defeated BJP's Madhu Chavan by 1,357 votes. This year, however, SP's Shaikh will also tap into the minority vote-bank. Pathan, however, doesn't see Shaikh as a competitor. When asked about the division of Muslim votes, he said, "My fight is only with the Sena candidate in this constituency. Over the past five years, I have raised issues and fought for the minority community's development. Our party has been their voice. We are confident that people will support us once again."