Mumbai: As the counting of ballots for the Mahim assembly seat is underway, Mahesh Baliram Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT) is leading by over 8,000 votes, Sada Sarvankar of Shiv Sena is at number second with 14,113 votes and Amit Thackeray, son of Raj Thackeray of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), is trailing at number three with 9965 (-12284) votes.
The seat was a traditional bastion of the Shiv Sena when the party was undivided. Amit's father and MNS supremo Raj Thackeray took rallies for his son in the run-up to the polls. For the record, Amit is the second member of the Thackeray family to fight an election after his cousin and former Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray, son of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.
The voters comprise middle and upper-middle-class Marathi families residing in areas like Mahim, Dadar and Prabhadevi. The seat is currently held by Sada Sarvankar, who was elected in the 2019 Assembly polls on an undivided Shiv Sena ticket. This is also the first election since Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde split the Shiv Sena and joined the BJP.
In Mahim, it is a triangular battle between Sada Sarvankar, who has been fielded by Shiv Sena, Amit Thackeray and Mahesh Baliram Sawant, who has been fielded by the Shiv Sena (UBT). The seat is prestigious as the Shiv Sena Bhawan, the headquarters of Shiv Sena and the well-known Shivaji Park, the venue for the annual Dusara rally, comes under it.
For the record, though the BJP is part of the Mahayuti, is supporting the candidature of Amit Thackeray, as Raj Thackeray had given unconditional support to the saffron party during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The key question is will Amit become the second Thackeray to be elected as an MLA?
