Mumbai: All eyes are on Ward No 106 in Mulund (East) as 67-year-old Prabhakar Shinde is one of the contenders for the mayor’s post if BJP gets the numbers in the BMC election. Shinde, a seasoned politician who will be contesting the BMC election for the sixth time on Jan 15, says he does not let any mayoral expectations weigh on him and prefers to remain grounded and simple.Shinde’s pitch rests on visibility and routine. He says that even after the corporation house term ended in 2022, he stayed “available to the public round the clock”, keeping up early morning cycling and daily five-kilometre walks within the ward. Having lost civic polls only once, in 2012, he is not taking Mulund’s reputation as a BJP bastion for granted, insisting his campaign will be decided by work on the ground.On Monday evening, as he stepped out of his fifth-floor apartment near Mulund station and headed towards Hutatma Chapekar Bandhu Marg for a padyatra, the campaign was marked by familiar local stops — housing societies, temples and street-corner interactions.At Srinath Apartment, Shinde, who had held the post of leader of the house in the BMC, addressed residents over a speaker, urging them to vote for the BJP’s ‘kamal’ symbol. Party workers raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as he visited the Khandoba temple, sought blessings, and then met devotees outside, greeting voters with a smile and folded hands, occasionally waving to residents watching from balconies and windows.The contest, though, is far from straightforward. Shinde faces senior MNS functionary Satyawan Dalvi, who has the backing of both Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS president Raj Thackeray. Shinde switched over to the BJP from the then undivided Shiv Sena ahead of the 2017 civic polls and won from Mulund on a BJP ticket. He acknowledges the political hostility by former Shiv Sena colleagues in his area, but frames his real challenge as civic issues. “My biggest challenge is issues faced by citizens of my constituency,” he said while greeting voters with a smile and a namaste, occasionally waving a hand to those staring from windows and balconies.Many voters recognised him as a local neta and came forward to shake hands, but some were reluctant. A voter who did not wish to be named said: “This constituency may witness PAP and slum resettlement from Dharavi near the highway, and this will be a burden on local civic infrastructure.” Local Shiv Sena (UBT) activist Nizam Bhatti said his party will be taking up this issue. “Is BJP doing anything?” he asked.Madhusudhan Gutti from Hari Om Nagar said that there is an uncontrolled proliferation of migrants in slum pockets. “There is also a sewage-related issue which has not been redressed for many months,” he said. Another voter, watching the campaign, cited hawker congestion near the station affecting pedestrians and buses, and disruption from cement concretisation and road digging. Redevelopment-driven high-rises are adding pressure on civic services.Shinde is countering any anti-incumbency factor in the constituency with a long list of promises: a petrol pump, swimming pool, drama theatre, playground, new police chowky, general parking lot, public complaint redressal centre, and a BEST bus depot.
