Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: Shiv Sena-BJP Trounce Congress in Mumbai, Sweep All 6 Seats

Mumbai Lok Sabha Election: The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has emerged triumphant in Mumbai and is set to win all six Lok Sabha seats in the city, decimating the Congress-NCP alliance in the process.

In the Mumbai South seat, which was believed to be a close contest between Shiv Sena’s incumbent MP from the seat Arvind Sawant and Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora, the Shiv Sena candidate ran far ahead after an initial neck and neck fight. Sawant was leading Deora by a margin of over 1 lakh votes at the time of filing this report.

In the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance’s biggest win in the city, the saffron party's Gopal Shetty decimated Congress candidate and actress Urmila Matondkar in Mumbai North. Shetty leads on the seat by a whopping 4,53,000 votes. Interestingly, Bollywood actor Govinda had won this seat contesting on a Congress ticket in the 2004 elections.

In another keenly watched contest in Mumbai North Central, BJP’s Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, led Congress leader Priya Dutt by a margin of over 1,24,000 votes. Mahajan had defeated Dutt on the same turf in the 2014 elections as well.

In Mumbai North-East, Manoj Kotak comfortably led against NCP's Patil Sanjay Dina and in Mumbai North-West, Shiv Sena's Gajanan Kirtikar convincingly trumped former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam and led by over 2 lakh votes.

Sena’s Rahul Ramesh Shewale also outlasted Congress' Eknath Gaikwad in the Mumbai South-Central seat.

In Mumbai, it was a head-on contest between the two alliances of Congress-NCP and BJP-Shiv Sena. BJP and Sena had swept Mumbai in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, winning all six seats.

Earlier in the day, Urmila tweeted that the signatures and the machine numbers are different on the form of EVM 17C from Magathane and a complaint has been filed with the EC.

Elections in Mumbai are always keenly watched for its high profile candidates and its high profile voters. The city also holds six crucial Lok Sabha seats out of a total 48 in Maharashtra. Mumbai went to polls on April 29 and the city saw a number of prominent candidates in the fray.

The hyper urban Mumbai has often been accused of political apathy reflected in its low voter turnout during polls. This time however, the city achieved a 30-year high with 55.1 per cent voter turnout, the highest since 1989 when the polling percentage was recorded at 57.7 per cent. The NDA, which won all six seats in the city in 2014, believe the high turnout showed a rallying support for PM Modi, while Congress believed it is an anti-incumbency surge.

In Mumbai North-Central, it was a battle of family legacy between Poonam Mahajan and Priya Dutt. Mahajan is the daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, while Dutt is the daughter of actor and five-time MP Sunil Dutt. Dutt's brother, actor Sanjay Dutt, had intensively campaigned for her.

Mumbai is grappling with a range of civic issues like infrastructure and traffic. The bridge collapse earlier this year that killed six people is also important in the context of polls. Creaking infrastructure is Mumbai's major issue.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena did not contest polls but actively campaigned against the BJP and Shiv Sena and advised Marathi voters to not vote for them. The MNS chief conducted several rallies and spoke on farmer distress and also attacked PM Modi directly.

The Lok Sabha election result is also indicative of which party will have the edge in the upcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra. The state is holding Assembly elections later this year in October. Massive farmer unrest, reflected by multiple Kisan marches, severe drought could spell doom for the Devendra Fadnavis government in the state.

Whenever Mumbai votes, the cameras follow celebrities and actors turning up to vote. PM Modi had tried to woo Bollywood too. He held a meeting with actors and directors, addressing a few industry concerns and was later seen in a selfie with the big names of Bollywood.