BJP, Congress try wooing north Indians before polls

Mumbai: As polling is just 16 days away for the four phases of the election in Maharashtra, the political parties are not leaving any stone unturned to woo north Indian voters in Mumbai.

The Congress is holding small meetings with citizens in areas dominated by north Indians, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to woo north Indian voters by bringing Bhojpuri celebrities and Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and actor Ravi Kishan for the election campaign in the city. There are 9,458,387 voters in Mumbai.

Out of this, close to 18 lakh voters are north Indians. In 2014, the north Indian voters were with the BJP, throwing the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidates out of power, but at present, the situation has changed. Therefore, north Indian voters will play a crucial role in electing representatives of all six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai.  

R N Singh, BJP’s MLC and president of the Uttar Bharatiya Sangh, one of the oldest recognised organisation of north Indians in the city, said, “We are conducting meetings with north Indian people in order to ensure victory for BJP, Shiv Sena candidates. I’m confident that the electorate will again repose their faith in Mr Modi and the BJP. We are apprising the people about what the government has done for north Indians in the last five years. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis gave all necessary approvals speedily for construction of the guest house in the Sangh premises. He has always helped the north Indian community in the state. This guest house will be available at nominal charges for pilgrims as well as cancer patients and their families, particularly north Indians.”

A senior Congress leader said that north Indian voters would be divided into two parts. The Other Backward Class (OBC) north Indians would be backing the Congress party, while the upper caste north Indians would support the BJP.    

North Indian Congress leader in the city, Kripashankar Singh, said that the party would be organising a meeting with north Indian people with traditional food items including litti-chokha etc. to connect with them in the coming days.  

While another north Indian and Congress leader Nasim Khan said that the north Indian people were feeling cheated by the Bharatiya Janata Party as the latter had failed to fulfill any promises in the past five years.

The party is conducting a meeting with north Indians at Andheri, Chandivali and Jogesh-wari among other north Indian-dominated places.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses etc all. Happy reading.