The Congress’ Jyoti Gaikwad on Saturday won against her rival, Rajesh Khandare of the Shiv Sena group headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, from the Dharavi constituency in the state Assembly election.

Gaikwad won 70,727 votes, while Khandare secured 47,268 votes in the constituency in Mumbai.

However, in the state as a whole, the state’s ruling Mahayuti coalition, of which the Shinde Sena is a part, was on course for an overwhelming victory.

The incumbent alliance, which also includes the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Nationalist Congress Party group headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, is ahead in 224 out of 288 seats.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party faction headed by Sharad Pawar and the Congress, was leading in 55 constituencies.


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The constituency of Dharavi had been in the spotlight in the run-up to the election due to a political war of words surrounding a project to redevelop the area, considered to be one of the world’s largest slums.

Adani Realty, a part of the Adani Group, holds an 80% stake in the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited, the special purpose vehicle set up for the purpose. The Maharashtra government holds the remaining portion.

Gujarat-based billionaire Gautam Adani, who heads the Adani Group, is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP.

Former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had promised to scrap the Dharavi redevelopment project if his party came to power. Shinde, on the other hand, said that the government would ensure that every resident of Dharavi would get a home irrespective of eligibility criteria.


Also read: Why Adani’s Dharavi project is a talking point in Maharashtra polls – and residents are anxious