BMC polls: Political legacies trump party lines as civic issues persist in south Mumbai ward

E ward's political landscape is as layered as its geography. Over the decades, it has elected corporators from the BJP, Congress, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party and hyper-local outfits like the Akhil Bharatiya Sena, founded by gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli.

Its electoral history reflects a culture of personal connection over party loyalty. The Jadhav family -- Yamini Jadhav and her husband Yashwant, the BMC's Leader of the House -- has collectively held office for six terms. Gawli, and later his daughter Geeta, have also enjoyed repeated victories since the 1990s."People here value long-term association -- showing up for weddings, birthdays and local events matters," said a local activist.

The densely populated ward, once a communist bastion, comprises areas such as Byculla, Agripada, Nagpada, Dockyard Road and Wadi Bunder. This election season, it continues to display an appetite for familiar surnames and political legacies. In electoral ward No. 210, Sonam Jamsutkar is contesting on a Shiv Sena (UBT) ticket from the same area represented by her husband, Manoj, the sitting MLA from Byculla.

In neighbouring ward 213, Nassima Juneja has entered the fray, carrying forward the political legacy of her husband, veteran Congress leader and former corporator Javed Juneja.

Another familiar face is Waqar Khan contesting from the region on a Congress ticket; he previously worked as a personal assistant for 12 years to the former corporator from the region Rais Shaikh.

The Gawli family, long a formidable presence in the area, is making another concerted push. Geeta Gawli and Yogita Gawli are both contesting from wards within the belt. Their father, Arun Gawli - once the area's undisputed local strongman and political supremo -- was recently released from prison after 18 years.

While he is not contesting, residents and political observers say it remains to be seen whether his return will have any tangible impact on voter mobilisation for his daughters.With elections approaching, corporators and residents say chronic civic shortfalls remain unresolved. Rais Shaikh, the former Samajwadi Party corporator from Madanpura, lists water supply, broken footpaths, the need for more BMC-CBSE schools and rising pollution as key challenges.

With pollution among the most frequent complaints in the region, Shaikh alleges that the BMC's 28-rule code has become "a tool to extract bribes," allowing builders to openly flout construction norms.Resident-activist Sayeed Khan adds that maternity facilities are grossly inadequate for a ward with lakhs of residents. "There is only Nair Hospital, and even there an MRI takes a month, while sonography can take up to 15 days," he says.

Local dispensaries, he adds, suffer from chronic staff and medicine shortages. Footpaths fitted with metal barricades instead of bollards have created unintended consequences.

"People end up setting up temporary shelters against them. Bollards would prevent this," he says. Several gardens have also lost security guards following a BMC 'cost-saving' decision, leaving them vulnerable to drug abuse at night and raising safety concerns.

Even basic water quality, Khan says, is a daily struggle. "Every morning, when the supply starts, we have to drain water for 15-20 minutes until the stench goes away. It's a huge waste in the little time we get."As elections near, residents say conversations in ward E sound much the same as they did years ago -- roads that don't last, water that doesn't flow, and public services that fail to keep pace with the area's rapid vertical growth.

For many, the hope is not for sweeping promises but for consistent delivery on the basics. The ward is a mixed-use pocket with both commercial and residential clusters. The entire belt was once a swamp located between the main island -- where the British fort stood -- and the island of Mazgaon. It was transformed after the Hornby-Vellard project united Mumbai's seven islands. Byculla and its surrounding areas soon became among the city's earliest suburbs, home to members of the elite.

In the 18th century, the arrival of the railways brought some of India's first textile mills to the area, drawing large numbers of working-class migrants and reshaping its social fabric.Today, that former mill land is dotted with high-rises and gated housing complexes, even as older neighbourhoods continue to grapple with basic civic problems. Dockyard Road resident Hoshedar Zaroliwala says, "Our BEST electricity cables are so old that we need specialised jabbers to conduct the current into our homes."