Sena banks on Marathi manoos to win in Thane. It’ll be a toss-up between withholding a legacy and promise of development for the Thane voters, this Assembly polls. Advertisement As the 70% of voters in Thane are Marathi-speaking, it remains to be seen if they will answer Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s call for Marathi pride or will be wooed by Narendra Modi’s promise of development. Thane city has always been a Sena fort, but after the Sena-BJP split, it looks like the main fight will be between these two parties. In 2009, all three constituencies in Thane city voted for the Sena and even showed former NCP MP Sanjeev Naik the door during the 2014 Lok Sabha. All eyes are now on senior Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who represents the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency spanning from Thane (East) to Wagle Estate. He might face tough competition from BJP’s Sandeep Lele, this time around. In Owla-Majiwada, sitting Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik, a rich builder who follows the open door policy, seems to be the popular candidate. But with municipal corporator Sanjay Pandey of BJP fielded against him, Sarnaik’s worry has increased. The main action, however, will be in Thane city — from Station Road to Hiranandani Estate and Ghodbunder Road — which was so far held by MP Rajan Vichare of the Shiv Sena. Ravi Fatak, a Congress rebel, is Sena’s candidate and this has given rise to internal bickering. BJP’s candidate Sanjay Kelkar, a former legislator is a known face, and is likely to appeal to the huge Marathi Brahmin community. NCP too has played it clever by fielding Niranjan Davkhare, a young Thaneite, who is an MLC and Vasant Davkhare’s son. He just might gain from the Sena-BJP fight. More : hindustantimes/specials/coverage/assembly-elections-2014/assemblyelections2014-maharashtra/sena-banks-on-marathi-manoos-to-win-in-thane/sp-article10-1272080.asps
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 03:58:56 +0000
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