Nawab Malik might contest against SP’s Abu Azmi in Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar

MUMBAI: After deciding to stay with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP post the split in party, former minister Nawab Malik is set for another big move: to change his constituency and contest from the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar assembly seat against Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi. Party insiders revealed that NCP chief Ajit Pawar has taken a decision in this regard.
Malik, who has been representing the Anushakti Nagar constituency, will be replaced by his daughter, Sana Shaikh, who was part of Sharad Pawar’s faction after the split but has now decided to join her father. This will be Sana’s electoral debut.
Malik’s contesting from Anushakti Nagar is significant, given that the assembly seat has been represented by Azmi for the last three terms. Azmi comfortably won the seat even when the Narendra Modi wave swept the country in 2014 and both the Congress and NCP pitted candidates against him in the polls. In the last election, Azmi’s victory margin was 25,613 votes.
The population of the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar assembly constituency is predominantly Muslim and believed to be around 58% while Marathis, North Indians, South Indians and Dalits form the remaining 42%. Given this fact, Malik is being regarded as a tough opponent for Azmi.
After Ajit Pawar joined the saffron Mahayuti coalition with 40 MLAs last July, the party has been struggling to maintain its secular identity. As part of this endeavour, Ajit is now keen on fielding at least eight candidates from Muslim constituencies across the state. Among these, Shivaji Nagar, Anushakti Nagar and Vandre East are from the city. From Vandre East the party’s candidate will be Zeeshan Siddique, who is set to join the NCP, said party insiders.
When questioned, Azmi said that everyone had the right to contest elections but he had faith in the work he had done in the last 15 years. “I will also ask people if they still want me to contest the election,” he said. “If they say no, I won’t.”
Azmi also stressed that he would prefer supporting someone who would be good for the constituency but not belonging to a communal party. “They have been planning to snatch my seat for a long time,” he said. “I want someone to win who will raise the voice of minorities in the Maharashtra assembly.”
Interestingly, Malik was part of the Samajwadi Party for several years. In 1996 and 1999, he won twice from the Nehru Nagar constituency, and was made minister for the first time in the Congress-NCP coalition government in 1999. Later, he left the party to join the NCP and was handed the labour portfolio.