Mumbai: MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) chief Raj Thackeray's son Amit Thackeray has been defeated in the Mahim constituency, a significant setback for Raj Thackeray. This was Amit Thackeray's maiden assembly election, and he lost to Mahesh Sawant, the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate. Interestingly, Mahesh Sawant also contested the assembly elections for the first time and achieved his maiden victory.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Shinde) candidate and three-time MLA Sada Sarvankar also faced defeat in the Mahim constituency. MNS candidate Amit Raj Thackeray has faced a significant defeat in the highly-watched Mahim constituency. Thackeray group candidate Mahesh Sawant has emerged victorious in this constituency. Sada Saravankar secured the second position, losing by a margin of 1,700 votes.
After Shiv Sena divided, the sitting MLA from Mahim, Sada Saravankar, extended his support to Eknath Shinde. This made the Mahim contest significant for the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction). They fielded Mahesh Sawant, a former disciple of Sada Saravankar, as their candidate. Meanwhile, MNS chief Raj Thackeray's son, Amit Thackeray, made his electoral debut in this constituency.
In the 2019 assembly elections, 52.67 percent voter turnout was recorded in the Mahim assembly constituency. However, in the 2024 assembly elections, the voter turnout increased to 58 per cent. This marks a rise of 5.33 percent compared to 2019. It has been observed that the increased voting percentage in Mahim this year has significantly contributed to Mahesh Sawant's victory.
Mahim constituency has the highest number of Marathi voters. That is why Mahim has remained a stronghold of Shiv Sena. Therefore, there was curiosity about who the Marathi voters would stand behind in the three-way fight. Moreover, it was predicted before the elections that the Muslim voters here would also play an important role.
This election was important for Amit Thackeray. There is a large MNS loyalist voter base in Mahim constituency. In 2009, Nitin Sardesai had won from this constituency on behalf of MNS. Whereas, in the 2019 elections, Sandeep Deshpande was contesting from MNS. He was defeated by Sada Saravankar, but still, Sandeep Deshpande got a whopping 42 thousand votes.
The 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections brought a new twist to Mahim’s seat when Nitin Sardesai of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won. This was a major setback for the Shiv Sena, as the MNS had impacted the Marathi vote bank. However, the Shiv Sena made a comeback in 2014 when Sada Saravankar won by 46,291 votes, defeating MNS's Nitin Sardesai, who received 40,350 votes.
Shiv Sena’s Sada Saravankar once again demonstrated his stronghold on the Mahim seat in the 2019 assembly elections. He secured 61,337 votes, defeating MNS's Sandeep Deshpande, who garnered 42,690 votes. The 2019 election results reflected that the Shiv Sena had re-consolidated its traditional Marathi vote base and triumphed despite the rise of the MNS.
Mahim is one of the key constituencies of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and is part of the Mumbai South Central Lok Sabha Constituency. This time, Amit Thackeray entered the fray from this constituency. Thackeray group member Mahesh Sawant also contested, while the sitting MLA Sada Saravankar received a ticket from the Mahayuti alliance. However, the fort, which had been held for many years, was finally captured by the Thackeray group, with Mahesh Sawant defeating Saravankar.
The political history of the Mahim Assembly Constituency is very interesting. Since 1962, several prominent leaders have contested elections in this area and emerged victorious. In the 1962 and 1967 elections, Frederick Michael Pinto won on a Citizen Socialist Party ticket and later on a Congress ticket. In 1972 and 1978, elections were contested by candidates from the Congress and Janata Party. In the 1980s, Sham Shetty won from here on a Congress ticket.
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