Patil squeaks through in NCP's maiden city win

MUMBAI: IPL excitement was rivalled by what rolled out at the Vikhroli counting centre, where the Nationalist Congress Party scored its maiden Lok Sabha victory in the city. The party's novice, Sanjay Patil, 40, bowled out BJP heavyweight Kirit Somaiya by a chip margin of 2,933 votes. Spoiler Shishir Shinde, of the MNS, garnered 1.96 lakh votes, thereby ensuring Somaiya's defeat.
Patil, a graduate and son of late trade-union leader Dina Bama Patil, was elected MLA from Bhandup in 2004.Elated by the LS victory, he said, "I will work towards the uplift of the poor. I will provide education to every child and also quality infrastructure. I will be easily accessible to everybody.''
He thanked Mankhurd, from where he bagged nearly 50,000 of the 86,000 votes polled. "I will solve every problem there, from water crisis to sanitation.''
As evening set in, Somaiya, whose total vote count stood at 2.11 lakh, probably regretted some of his reckless statements. Qutubuddin Lakhi, an activist from the Muslim-dominated Shivaji Nagar, said, "Somaiya challenged us that he would win even if Mankhurd did not vote for him. We supported a secular party.''
But the BJP said the MNS factor was most vital. BJP Mulund MLA Tara Singh said, "Despite two big alliances, the MNS secured a respectable position. The MNS factor altered all our calculations.''
A shocked Somaiya did not have a word to say. He preferred to stay away from the counting station too. "I have asked for a re-poll as there's a slender margin. I have worked hard for the constituency and expected to win,'' he said. However, the re-poll request was turned down. He blamed the presence of Bangladeshi voters in Shivaji Nagar for his defeat.
A locality-wise analysis revealed that the MNS ate into votes in the BJP-Sena strongholds of Ghatkopar, Bhandup and Vikhroli. Political analysts pointed to another factor instrumental in Patil's victory-the friction between Sena and BJP workers in the eastern suburbs. Also, certain BJP activists did not campaign effectively for Somaiya.
The NCP's initial lead was bolstered by the Aagri community, which represents nearly 8% of the voters in the constituency and to which Patil belongs. While Patil drew votes from Bhandup, Govandi and Ghatkopar (W), the Gujaratis of Mulund and Ghatkopar (E) stood by Somaiya. Sources said votes from Dalit pockets, such as Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, were divided between Patil and Shinde.
The 17 rounds of counting had all elements of a well-played match. In the first nine rounds, Patil emerged a clear winner, until the EVMs from Mulund were tallied. For another five rounds, things looked good for Somaiya, until the 15th round. Then came the firecrackers and cheerleaders from Ramabai Nagar and Shivaji Nagar.