Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Vandre East seat heading for a close combat between Zeeshan and Varun

The prestigious Vandre East (Bandra East) seat has an interesting demography because of a huge Marathi-speaking voters, slum pockets and high Dalit and Muslim population and a good number of migrants.

Mumbai: The prestigious Vandre East (Bandra East) seat of Mumbai is heading for a close political combat between two young firebrand leaders - Zeeshan Siddique and Varun Sardesai, both hailing from political families.

It is one of the most keenly contested and observed seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.

The seat has an interesting demography because of a huge Marathi-speaking voters, slum pockets and high Dalit and Muslim population and a good number of migrants.

It boasts of one of the most important addresses in India - Matoshree, the bungalow of the Thackeray family.

Besides, it houses the Bandra-Kurla Complex, one of the most sought-after office spaces that have developed over the last couple of decades. And it adjoins Dharavi, one of the biggest slum clusters of the world.

Zeeshan Siddique (32), a sitting MLA, has been fielded by Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

He is the son of three-time MLA and former minister Baba Siddique, who was recently shot dead in the Nirmalnagar area of Bandra, by people suspected to be members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

Zeeshan was expelled by Congress for cross voting in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Baba Siddique (66) had left Congress after a 48-year association and joined Ajit Pawar.

Varun Thackeray (31) has been fielded by Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). Varun is cousin of Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray, who is an MLA from Worli. Both of them command the Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the party. Varun is the son of the sister of Rashmi Thackeray, the mother of Aaditya and Tejas.

“There are many factors here. While surely there is a sympathy wave in favour of Zeeshan, there are many who feel that it is a traditional undivided Shiv Sena seat and as a crucial leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), Varun is the ideal candidate,” political observers said.

The Vandre East seat came into existence after delimitation and is part of Mumbai North Central seat from where Mumbai Congress President Prof Varsha Gaikwad has won the Lok Sabha polls defeated BJP’s Ujjwal Nikam, the famous public prosecutor who had handled cases like March 12, 1993, serial blasts and 26/11 terror attacks.

In 2009 and 2014, the Vandre East seat was won by Shiv Sena’s Bala Sawant. However, he passed away in 2015 and in the by-elections, Bala’s wife Trupti Sawant defeated Narayan Rane, who was then with the Congress.

In 2019, Zeeshan - who is now with Maha Yuti - defeated former Mumbai Mayor Prof Vishwanath Mahadeshwar in a triangular fight where Trupti Sawant rebelled and contested as an Independent. He is the youngest legislator of the outgoing Assembly.

Zeeshan, in a post on X, took a swipe at Maha Vikas Aghadi, and said, “Heard that old friends have declared their candidate in Vandre East. It was never in their nature to support. Keep a relationship with the one who respects and honors you. That means there is no point in increasing the crowd. Now the public will take the decision”.

Varun, on his part, said, “In the last election Zeeshan won as there were two Shiv Sena candidates (one official and one rebel). This time the votes will not be divided. People have sympathy for Uddhav Thackeray whose party was broken and dislodged as Chief Minister...people have deep respect for Balasaheb Thackeray."

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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