Mumbai North Central

The legacy of actor-politician late Sunil Dutt 'inherited' by his daughter Priya Dutt, sitting MP and Congress nominee from Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat, is likely to be under threat with BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan and SP's Farhan Azmi also in fray.

For the first time, the Dutt legacy is set to face stiff competition from Poonam Mahajan, BJP candidate and daughter of late Pramod Mahajan, besides Samajwadi Party's Farhan Azmi aiming to grab a large chunk of four lakh Muslim and 2.5 lakh North Indian votes in the constituency, political observers said.

More than Congress, it was Sunil Dutt who held sway in the constituency for several years ever since he strode into political waters in 1984. While BJP had no cadre as Dutt's victory was a forgone conclusion, they said.

"All the MLAs and corporators would be loyal to Sunil Dutt and there was a time when along with Dutt, all six Assembly segments would have Congress MLAs and also sizable corporators," observers pointed out.

But, according to them, the situation had changed now. "The anti-incumbency factor is massive. Priya Dutt has no local support of MLAs. Kurla MLA Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan and Kalina MLA Kripashankar Singh were conspicuous by their absence when Priya filed her nominations. Apart from Bandra west MLA Baba Siddique and Vile Parle legislator Krishna Hegde, Priya has no support from the local Congress cadre," sources said.

Whereas, BJP has fielded Poonam Mahajan, who has been active in politics for quite some time.

According to a BJP office-bearer from the constituency, "In 2009, the BJP morale was low. Lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani was new to politics. But, Poonam is a good choice. There is support for Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate and the local cadre is active," he said.
Political observers are wondering if Priya's victory margin will be reduced while BJP feels a "shock" result can be expected.

However, the unease in the Congress over Farhan's candidature was visible as chief minister Prithviraj Chavan himself called SP leader Abu Asim Azmi and appealed to him to withdraw Farhan's candidature.

Is Dutt legacy under threat in Mumbai North Central?

Mumbai: Samajwadi Party candidate from Mumbai North Central parliamentary constituency, Farhan Azmi on Wednesday claimed that sitting MP Priya Dutt was feeling the heat for the first time as she is locked in a fierce contest.

"My primary rival is Poonam Mahajan of BJP. Priya is feeling the heat and her morale is low. She is not stepping out of her house," Farhan told reporters here.

He said his father and state SP chief Abu Asmi Azmi had rejected Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's pleas to withdraw from the fray in Mumbai North Central.

According to Farhan, 80 per cent of the crowd with Priya yesterday while filing her nomination were outsiders.


"She has no local support. Only Bandra MLA Baba Siddique was present. There were no other MLAs and corporators," he claimed.

He expressed confidence that he would sail through in the elections with help of youth, muslims and non-Muslim North Indians in the constituency.

Farhan said his campaigning for the last six days in Chandivali, Kurla, Bandra east and Kalina areas have given him positive feedback.

"Poor people in the constituency are living in inhuman conditions and throughout the campaign, I will be sporting a black band on my forehead as a mark of protest that the local MP has not done anything to uplift the living standards of the poor," he added.

Hitting out at Priya, Farhan cited the example of Priti Rathi, who was a victim of acid attack at Bandra Terminus.

"There are Congress MLAs, corporators and MP from this area. But, none went to meet her when she was battling for her life and after she died no one consoled her family," he said adding that he had offered Priti Rs 10 lakh compensation and a job in his company after recovery, but she succumbed to her injuries.

Samajwadi Party never contested against Sunil Dutt, Farhan said adding that late Dutt did good work for the poor. "But Priya has shamed her father," he charged.
Sourced from zeeindia

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