Heady mix of super rich and slumdwellers, Colaba makes headlines for low voter turnout

Mumbai, Nov 8 (PTI) The Colaba assembly segment in south Mumbai may be a study in contrasts with houses of the super rich as well as shanties of the poor, but what unites all is a notorious apathy towards voting.

The area has offices of some of the country's top industrial houses, public sector enterprises, state government offices including Mantralaya and the legislature complex as well as the bullion markets. The constituency comprises Colaba, Cuffe Parade, Nariman Point, Churchgate, Marine Drive, Chira Bazar, Masjid Bunder, Navy Nagar etc.

The reason for the low turnout may be because the attitude of the voters, whether rich or poor, is one of not being bothered as they feel there can be no change, former BJP MLA Raj Purohit told PTI.

Underlining the complexity of the constituency, sitting BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar told PTI "it needs a legislator who can take everyone along".

"The high-rises of Colaba, Cuffe Parade, mohallas of Mohamed Ali Road, chawls of Girgaum are part of the constituency. These have the richest as well as the poorest people. It is a cosmopolitan constituency. I have been instrumental in getting leasehold land converted to freehold. The premium was reduced from 25 per cent to 5 per cent. This I am trying to further reduce to 2 per cent," Narwekar said.

The MLA said he had managed to get five vertical parking lots and eight new gardens in Colaba, while tenders for five new water reservoirs have been issued.

He said he had got Rs 150 crore allocated for repair of dilapidated buildings, which is a major issue facing voters.

Narwekar said he had got a commitment from the state government on the floor of the House that Colaba will be declared as the state capital region.

"We have a floating population of 48 lakh while the population is 13 lakh. This is putting burden on the infrastructure. We need additional resources," Narwekar asserted.

Purohit said 19 slum pockets have 75000 of the constituency's total 2,64,768 voters, while some 20,000 people are in the fishing business.

The voters comprise 1,51,073 males and 1,13,686 females.

There are some 50000 residents in Navy Nagar, a sprawling colony for military officers and personnel, while the constituency also has commercial hubs like Fort and Ballard Pier. Areas like Kalbadevi and Dhobi Talao are strongholds of the middle class.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha, the ruling alliance's Yamini Jadhav polled 58,645 votes against eventual winner Arvind Sawant in Colaba assembly segment.

The seat was a Congress stronghold till 2014, when he won it, Purohit said. In 2019, the BJP denied him a ticket and fielded Narwekar.

The Congress has fielded Hiralal Devasi, who had unsuccessfully fought against Mangal Prabhat Lodha in the 2019 assembly polls from Malabar Hill. PTI MR BNM