Lok Sabha elections phase 5: Mumbai gears up for polling; Here are the key contestants

Mumbaikars will cast their votes in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 20. The city accounts for 6 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, namely Mumbai North, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North West, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central. 

BJP had won the Mumbai North, Mumbai North East and Mumbai North Central seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The remaining three seats were bagged by the Shiv Sena. 

However, the Sena has now split into Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde-led and Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) groups, while the Nationalist Congress Party has factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar. 

For this term, Maharashtra is witnessing a close contest between the Mahayuti coalition, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party, and the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, consisting of the Indian National Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP). 

A look at key contestants for tomorrow 

Mumbai North: BJP announced Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s candidature in its second list of 72 candidates. Goyal is making his poll debut this year and is up against the Congress candidate Bhushan Patil. Senior BJP leader Gopal Shetty won from Mumbai North in 2014 and 2019. 

Mumbai South: Two-time MP and UBT Sena leader Arvind Sawant is aiming for a hat-trick as he contests against Shiv Sena’s Byculla MLA Yamini Yashwant Jadhav in this phase. While Sawant relies on vocal representation in Parliament, where he raised various national issues. 

Mumbai north-central: Both BJP and Congress have fielded first-time candidates from the seat. Congress’s Mumbai unit chief Varsha Gaikwad will take on senior criminal lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who is the BJP candidate. Nikam handled the country’s several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. On the other hand, Gaikwad (49), a four-time MLA and former minister, is a prominent Dalit leader in the city. 

Thirteen constituencies from the state will be up for voting in the phase 5 of the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

The 13 constituencies, which are set to go to polls are Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Kalyan, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, and Mumbai South.