Elections 2019: War to claim the throne in Thane intensifies

NCP's Anand Paranjpe and Shiv Sena's Rajan Vichare. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

Thane, an Assembly constituency comprising three municipal corporations governed by the BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP, is set to witness a showdown in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The results are said to change the fortune of all three cities - Thane, Mira-Bhayandar and Navi Mumbai. While Shiv Sena's Rajan Vichare, a sitting MP, is being pitted against NCP's Anand Paranjpe, the deciding factor of this contest will be the number of votes from Mira-Bhayandar area, governed by the BJP.

Shiv Sena bastion

Thane has remained a Shiv Sena bastion since the 1999 general elections, except in 2009 when Dr Sanjeev Naik defeated Shiv Sena candidate Vijay Chaughule with a margin of 50,000 votes. In the next election, however, Sena, made a comeback after Vichare secured double the number of votes.

Speaking about the work accomplished in his constituency, Vichare says, "The constituency is so huge, comprising three civic bodies. I take full credit for the work done in railways, roads and other infrastructural projects in the last five years. The only major problem here is the traffic, but we have managed to decongest the bottlenecks in Digha-Kalwa, Ghodbunder and Bhiwandi bypass." On the Navi Mumbai International Airport project, he adds, "I am following up with the Centre to finish it as early as possible. This project will increase employment in Navi Mumbai and the neighbouring Raigad district."

NCP's tough fight

This year, after Naik's family reportedly showed no interest in the polls, NCP's Paranjpe, an ex-MP from the neighbouring constituency of Kalyan, has challenged Vichare, who says, "I started working as a corporator first, until I became MP. So, I know how things work as well as every detail of administrative operations. People in the constituency know me as a field worker, and I hope they will give me another opportunity to serve them."During campaigning, however, Vichare suffered objection from different parts in his constituency. Waghbil residents stopped his convoy from entering the village.

Meanwhile, the NCP candidate pointed out that rampant corruption had taken place during Vichare's tenure. Paranjpe, a mechanical engineer, has also been urging people to vote for an "educated candidate", he has not much to offer in his manifesto other than a railway project and the airport.

Also Read: Elections 2019: Candidates focus online, spend less on campaigning

No. of votes in Thane general elections
2014
Rajan Vichare (Shiv Sena)
5,95,364
Dr Sanjeev Naik (NCP)
3,14,065

2009
Dr Sanjeev Naik (NCP)
3,01,000
Vijay Chaughule (Shiv Sena)
2,51,980

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