Can 'Invincible' Kalidas Kolambkar Retain Wadala For Ninth Consecutive term Term?

Mumbai’s Wadala constituency is all set to once again test the so-called ‘invincibility’ of BJP leader and MLA Kalidas Kolambkar. The 70-year-old has been representing Wadala constituency for the past eight consecutive terms and is now vying to secure his ninth time to occupy the title of being the longest-serving MLA from the city.

Over the years since his debut victory in 1990, Kolambkar emerged triumphant from the Wadala on tickets provided by the Congress, the undivided Shiv Sena, and the BJP. He has been a long-term member of the grand old party, becoming its MLA from 2009 to 2019. In 2018, Kolambkar switched to the BJP to contest from his sitting constituency during the 2019 assembly elections. Notably, Kolambkar had secured his constituency by a margin of mere 800 votes during the 2014 assembly elections as a Congress candidate. In 2019, the Wadala MLA could stabilise his voter base, winning the election by a margin of 30,845 votes, which led many to label him a turncoat and opportunist.

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Kolambkar claims the reason why the constituency has not abandoned him for the past long years was his deep connection with the residents, noting that he first won in 1990 against then sitting minister Vilas Sawant because of his grassroots relationship with the people. He further claimed that the reason he switched from Congress was the support offered by the BJP leadership towards the development of the Wadala constituency.

Despite the voters back-to-back preference for Kolambkar, the constituency has several unresolved issues, including the overcrowded slums, dilapidated buildings, poor sanitation, and water supply shortages.

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However, this time, the eight-time MLA is expected to face formidable rivals from the opposition, including the former Mumbai mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Shraddha Jadhav as a MVA nominee and former Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporator Snehal Jadhav.

Notably, Kolambkar’s main opponent, Jadhav, also has equally strong ties within the constituency, whose campaigns have focused on the issues the constituency has been facing for a long time. Jadhav has pointed out issues such as incomplete development and lack of health facilities, among others, holding the long tenure of the sitting MLA responsible for the laxity.

Making the battle more unpredictable, the MNS’s prominent figure Jadhav has also posed a challenge to the dominant political parties in Wadala.