Abu Asim Azmi from the Samajwadi Party has represented Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar constituency (Seat No 171) in the Maharashtra state assembly for three terms, increasing his votes substantially between 2014 and 2019. Will he be able to grab a fourth term as an Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) when Maharashtra elects a new assembly later this year?
There are indications that the anti-incumbency sentiments against Azmi could make another win a challenge. The constituency is fighting what residents say is a major crime and drug-addiction wave. The contentious issue of the Deonar municipal dumping ground - Mumbai's largest - is yet to be resolved. Also, if the MLA from the neighbouring Anushakti Nagar (Seat No 172) constituency, Nawab Malik from the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, decides to contest from the seat, as newspaper reports have reported, Azmi will face a tough challenge in 2024. Nearly 60% of Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar's electorate is Muslim and the splitting of the community's votes between two sitting MLAs could impact Azmi's hopes for a fourth term.
Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar covers localities along the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road, Govandi (West), Indian Oil Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Bainganwadi, Mandala, and parts of Mankhurd. The seat is a part of the Mumbai North East Lok Sabha constituency and votes from this constituency was instrumental in the victory of Sanjay Dina Patil, the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from the parliamentary seat. Azmi won the seat in 2019 with 69,036 votes, compared to the 43,423 received by his main rival, Shivaji Sena's Vitthal Lokare who is now with the Uddhav Thackeray group. The constituency has over 3,00,000 voters.
Residents credit the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for recent improvements in the area's water supply and other municipal services. Nafees Ansari, a resident of Lotus Colony, Govandi, and a poultry supplier, said, "However, Azmi's contribution to the improvement in the area's infrastructure and urban planning is next to zero. Crime has increased alarmingly and Azmi has done little to solve this."
The recent violent attack on a teenager in a fallout of a dispute between drug gangs still weighs heavily in the minds of the residents. Shaikh Fayyaz Alam of the Govandi Citizens Welfare Forum said that the local police stations has been unable to control crime. "The problem needs the intervention of the state and city police, but Azmi has not done enough to bring the state government's attention to the crisis. The Narcotics Control Bureau has not made a single visit to the area," said Alam.
Lokare, a four-time corporator from one of the nine municipal wards in the constituency, agreed that drug-related crime was too entrenched to be tackled by the local police stations. "The city police commissioner has to be involved. Azmi has failed to get this done. Dismissing the drug menace as a national problem is not the way to deal with the issue," said Lokre
Another festering issue in the area has been the continued use of the Deonar dumping ground. Shivaji Nagar is located at the base of the massive hill of garbage. "Azmi had promised that the biomedical waste processing plant at the dumping ground would be closed. He has not been able to do it. The promises have been election gimmicks. He has not been able to exert pressure on the government to shift the facility which is a health hazard," said Alam. "Education and water are basic rights and the municipal corporation can take care of them. The MLA has to take responsibility for urban planning and security. Slums are growing vertically as families expand but there has been no help from the planning agencies."
The Govandi Citizens Welfare Forum and other community groups recently sent an open letter to prospective candidates, listing problems that need attention, including the bad infrastructure in the slums, the education gap, lack of economic opportunities, crime, and inadequate healthcare facilities.
Azmi, who is also the Samajwadi Party’s Maharashtra president, acknowledged that the area faces drug-related crime and social issues. However, he said that the drug problem in his constituency is exaggerated. He blamed the state government for ignoring the issue, saying that they are not interested in solving the issue as the victims are largely members of the Muslim community.
"I have raised the issue 20 to 25 times in the assembly. Police security in the area is not tight. I also blame parents for leaving children without any supervision and allowing them to get caught in illegal activities. Police have told me that they are facing a shortage of staff. There are no crime-control measures like rounding up suspects," said Azmi .
Citizens' groups alleged that Azmi has allotted plots reserved for public use to private groups. Recently, residents had protested against the conversion of a study centre for students into an office for a recruitment company. He has also been accused of exploiting religious sentiments to get the Muslims vote for him. "The population is largely illiterate and he has been portraying himself as a leader who can protect Muslims," said Alam.
Lokre, who is planning to contest again, said that anti-incumbency will work against Azmi in the elections. "A MLA's job is to protect plots reserved for public use under the Development Plan. However, the area is losing such land. A majority of the voters here are Muslims but there are not enough graveyards."
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Azmi, who is looking forward to a fourth term as the area's MLA, said that the closure of the dumping ground, establishment of a degree college, especially for women, and a sports complex are on his agenda. He said that the possibility of facing Malik does not faze him. Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar constituency is not to win the seat but to reduce his (Azmi’s) votes. "Obviously, if there are more candidates the votes will be divided. Malik will not win but he can take away some of my votes.
No degree or engineering colleges in the area
Inadequate banking facilities with no ATMs
No tertiary hospitals. New APJ Abdul Kalam Hospital has been inaugurated but lacks adequate diagnostic and consultancy facilities.
Access to the nearest railway station, Govandi, is restricted to two congested roads
Lack of economic opportunities
Health hazards from the Deonar dumping ground and biomedical waste treatment facility
