Shuiab Khatib, a trustee of Jama Masjid, one of the main mosques in the city, will be contesting the elections for the state's assembly from Mumbadevi for the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram).
Khateeb had contested the Mumbai South parliamentary seat, of which Mumbadevi is an assembly segment, for the Bahujan Samaj Party in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT) won the seat, defeating Yamini Jadhav of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Khateeb met Chandrasekhar Azad, the National President of the ASP who is a Member of Parliament from Nagina in Uttar Pradesh, a few days ago in Delhi. Khatib said the ASP could contest 20 to 22 seats in the Maharashtra assembly elections. There are also reports of the party tying up with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. However, there has been no final decision on the tie-up, said Khatib who will file his nomination papers on October 28.
The Mumbadevi seat has been represented by Amin Patel of the Congress for three consecutive terms since 2009. Patel has been nominated for the seat this time too and is one of the three Muslim candidates from the Congress from Mumbai, the others being Aslam Shaikh, the current MLA from Malad (West), and Naseem Khan from Chandivali. Before Patel, Mumbadevi was represented by Raj Purohit of the Bharatiya Janata Party for four terms.
The Mumbadevi constituency includes Dongri, Mandvi, and parts of Khetwadi and Bhuleshwar. Congested roads, unauthorised high-rise buildings, lack of urban planning, and inadequate vehicle parking are some of the issues in the area. "Old buildings with three or four floors are being demolished and replaced with structures that have over 15 floors. The roads are filled with parked motorcycles and cars and are difficult to navigate. The JJ Hospital, the only major medical facility, is badly maintained and conditions are so bad that most residents avoid going there. No work has been done to improve the area's infrastructure," said Khatib.
Patel, who has thanked the Congress leadership for nominating him to the seat again, said he has the support and trust of the residents of his constituency.
