A Three Way Battle In Byculla Constituency

Set for a three-way unpredictable electoral fight, Byculla Constituency in Maharashtra is filled with the election heat since the poll bugles kicked off for the voting scheduled for November 20. Like many other constituencies, the splits in major political parties have significantly impacted the electoral dynamics of Byculla too.

The constituency was represented by three different parties over the past three terms, right from 2009, including Congress in 2009,  All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in 2014, and undivided Shiv Sena in 2019. Since the split, the primary battle in the upcoming election has been between the two Senas—the Eknath Shinde faction and the Uddhav Thackeray factions under the Mahayuti and MVA alliances, respectively.

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Notably, sitting MLA Yamini Yashwant had aligned with Shinde Sena during the split, and the party has renominated her for another term. The rival Sena has fielded Manoj Jamsutkar as an MVA candidate. Making the battle even more stiff for both Sena candidates, the AIMIM, whose candidate had captured the seat during 2014 assembly elections, has nominated Faiyyaz Ahmed.

Wife of Yashwant Jadhav, Shiv Sena leader and former chairman of the Standing Committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Yamini Yashwant defeated then sitting AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan by a majority of 20,023 votes in 2019. The AIMIM is eyeing the seat for another term, posing a threat to major powers.

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Yamini Yashwant is known to be articulate and has built connections with the community. An orator, she was first elected as a municipal councillor in 1997 and again in 2007. She was elected from the Mazgaon area to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2012. Also respected by all communities, she is said to have the ability to mobilise votes.