Dharavi redevelopment dominates BMC poll campaign as parties fight amid displacement fears

It comes as no surprise that the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) is the lynchpin in the campaign for the upcoming elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to be held on Thursday. Covering wards 183 through 189, the battlefield is crowded with candidates from larger parties, smaller ones and a generous dose of independents – ward 188 has 20 candidates vying for the coveted post of corporator.

Not 100 metres go by in the crowded gullies without a mandap, makeshift party office or tempo drawing people’s attention to the promises on offer. Come evening, and multiple small groups representing various political parties set out, sloganeering and giving speeches.

“One Shiv Sena office is there, and the other Shiv Sena’s office is a few steps ahead of it,” said a resident when asked for directions, accustomed to his temporary neighbours. Despite the multiplicity of parties in the fray, from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), AIMIM, etc, the locals are clear this is an election for the big guns – you either want to stay on the good side of the redevelopment plan in its current form, or you side with the Opposition in hopes of having a bargaining chip if things don’t go in your favour.

“Redevelopment will push us out of Dharavi, so we do not want it. We are with the Congress,” said a woman going along with AAP party workers. Alongside a Congress candidate at every seat, two of the seats in the area will see a Sena vs Sena face-off, two will witness a Sena (UBT) fight against the BJP, and two will have a Shinde Sena vs MNS contest.

Yet, even when it comes to the DRP, Opposition parties are varied in the scale of their opposition to the plan. There is a tacit recognition that redevelopment, in its charging-full-steam-ahead form, cannot be averted.

“The DRP will not give homes to the people of Dharavi in Dharavi, and that is what we are against,” said Vasant Nakashe, former Shiv Sena corporator of ward 186 and husband of the UBT candidate Vasha Nakashe in ward 184. “While they say they will, their plan is to term most people ineligible. We will stop that from happening, and instead of throwing out the people who made this area prosperous, ensure everyone gets 500 sq ft homes here.”

Not counting the Shiv Sena as much of a threat in the ward, he instead spoke about the Congress candidate, Sajidabi Babbu Khan. “Babbu is the former corporator here, and people here have had enough of his corruption and neglect, so he will not be much of a hurdle,” said Nakashe.

The Congress candidates and former corporators countered this view, listing their accomplishments of gutter work, opening skywalks, and fixing roads in their time. But what was at stake was clear.

One party worker for Congress candidate Mariammal Thevar in ward 188, warned, “If someone from Shinde’s party is elected from here, be warned that the roof over our heads will be gone. If the BMC goes to the ruling party, nothing will be able to stop them. For us poor people, our slum homes are our palaces. And now, every morning we wake up, the people conducting surveys land up on our doors, and we are scared for our homes. Congress will be our support.”

“Our stand is to safeguard the interest of the people of Dharavi during the DRP,” said Thevar, who pointed out the Shiv Sena candidate’s history of party-hopping. “The people of Dharavi should get homes within Dharavi as this is where their lives are. And they should get homes which are 500 sq ft large, so the quality of their lives improves. This is what we will fight for.”

The Mahayuti candidates, in response, were countering the narrative. “The Opposition parties are playing on the fears of displacement of the people here to garner votes,” said Praveen Jain, supporting his wife, Komal Jain, the Shiv Sena candidate from the ward. “We are dispelling the misinformation they have spread. Not only will we be giving people homes here, we will also be giving homes to the ineligible residents. Where else does one see that?”

Playing up the past record of previous elected representatives from the Shiv Sena and Congress, the Mahayuti candidates and party workers pointed to the condition of the wards. “The Congress has done nothing all these years they have been in power. Garbage, sewage, waterlogging, traffic… There has been no improvement on any front. Redevelopment is what we are waiting for,” said BJP worker Vinod Kamble, who had just accompanied the ward 185 candidate Ravi Raja and BJP city chief Ameet Satam on a campaign trial.

“Yes, some people are worried about what the outcome of redevelopment will be, particularly those with commercial establishments. But BJP workers are speaking with them and working towards an arrangement that they’re happy with,” Kamble said.

One group the Mahayuti has not been able to convince is the kumbhars (potters). While it is clear that eligible residents will get 350 sq ft homes, what the commercial establishments of kumbharwada and recyclers will receive has not been chalked out yet, with negotiations still in progress. In the meantime, however, the kumbhars have opposed the survey, partly as a negotiation tactic, partly as an angry outlet for answers.

“This government is a thief and will not give us anything,” said Vinod Chauhan, the owner of a large pottery studio and shop, refusing to admit which party his allegiance lies towards. “The DRP first wants to survey us and take all our details, but why can’t they first come to us with what they are offering us? We will likely vote for the Opposition, so that there is someone standing on our side.”