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A Ganesh Nadar explores Mumbai's underbelly and analyses the mood of the electorate in Dharavi ahead of the election on October 13.
No posters, banners or blaring loudspeakersÂ… the election buzz is missing in Dharavi, till recently known as Asia's largest slum.
The only place that yells aloud that an "election is on" is the office of the local Congress candidate, Varsha Gaekwad.
Varsha is the sitting MLA of this area. Congress workers are sure that she will regain the seat with a 30,000-vote margin. The public, however, begs to differ.
"See the price of sugar; see the price of tur dal. Everything has gone beyond the reach of the common man; the entire fault lies with (Home Minister) P Chidambaram. He (when he was finance minister in UPA's first term) allowed trading of commodities. Now hoarders do not need to go to the market to buy foodgrains. They can sit at their computer terminals and hoard," said one grocery trader.
A hotel owner, who did not want to be identified, feels otherwise.
"Despite the price rise, the Congress will win for two reasons. One is that our MLA, Varsha is totally accessible. Anyone can go and meet her and she too comes to every home that invites her. The other reason is goondaism. If a Shiv Sena MLA is elected, all the hoodlums will become legitimate. As it is they behave like officials. If they win, they will be at their worst behaviour," he said
Most complaints against the Shiv Sena pertain to extortion.
Residents allege that Sena workers don't need a reason in particular to collect money. If one day it is for Ganesh Chathurthi, days later they will collect money for Navaratri and then for Diwali. Even if one of their men dies, they go around collecting money for burial. And, they don't beg or coax; they demand money, lament residents.
Manohar K Raybaghe is a builder and the local Shiv Sena candidate. Sources say that he is expected to loosen his purse strings in the last two days of the campaign.
"It won't be like Tamil Nadu where the voters get the money. Here, the local strongman will get it. Anyone who convinces the candidate that he has 50 votes in his command will get the money on October 11 (two days before polling)," said a wine shop owner.
Also in the fray is Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Vishnu Gaekwad. Four independents don't stand a chance.
Interestingly, none of the candidates contesting in Dharavi resides there. While the Shiv Sena candidate lives in Thane, the Congress candidate is from Sion Koliwada. The BSP candidate lives in the Matunga labour camp area.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has six wards in Dharavi of which four belong to the Congress while Shiv Sena and the BSP hold one each. So, on paper, Congress's chances look brighter.
Dharavi is said to have a sizeable population from south India, particularly Tamil Nadu. But ask any Tamil here; they say people from their hometown have stopped arriving in Dharavi.
Says a local, "There are no new arrivals from Tamil Nadu. The educated youth get higher paying jobs in Chennai and Coimbatore than in Mumbai. The poor find higher paying jobs in the retail sector in Chennai, Coimbatore and the other small cities."