Lok Sabha elections 2024: Want Govandi’s votes? Sign this manifesto, says citizens’ body

Members of the Govandi Citizens’ Welfare Forum

It's a sign of growing awareness of the value of the vote, and it comes from an area that has the worst human development indicators in Mumbai. A manifesto has been drafted by the Govandi Citizens' Welfare Forum which must be signed by any candidate who wants the votes of its approximately eight lakh residents.

From shutting down the Deonar dumping ground adjacent to the Govandi slum to upgrading municipal clinics; from establishing a girls' college there to regularising the citizenship documents of locals, the 14-point manifesto covers almost every aspect of life in this sprawling slum, which bears the brunt of the city's air pollution and carries the tag of being a communally sensitive area.

Hoping to shed that tag, the manifesto wants candidates to avoid campaigning on divisive religious grounds and focus on development. It wants voters to also think on the same lines. The Forum plans to take a summary of the manifesto house to house. What if candidates refuse to sign, given the range and scope of the demands? The manifesto then advises residents to opt for NOTA.

Given the fact that a majority of the residents here are Muslim, the chances of such advice being taken are dim, acknowledges Shaikh Faiyaz Alam of the Forum. In February, a speech by BJP MLA Nitesh Rane which lashed out at Govandi's police officers for allowing "Rohingyas and Bangladeshis" to continue living in their jurisdiction, and threatened that "unauthorised structures" would be demolished, gave an inkling to the area's Muslims about what was in store for them.

What the Forum aims to do, however, by issuing such a manifesto, said Faiyaz, is to prevent people from "voting blindly" for the candidate best positioned to defeat the BJP. Opposition candidates think that Muslims will anyway vote for them, said a Forum member. "We wanted to rid them of that impression. They should know that as citizens, we have some demands. If not now, then during the Assembly elections, these should be kept in mind."

The removal of the dumping ground, and the cancellation of two projects linked with it: the proposed waste-to-energy plant and the biomedical waste incinerator, feature on top of the manifesto. In September 2023, the Bombay High Court gave the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation two years to find an alternative site for the incinerator; nothing has moved since, said the Forum.

However, asked which demand he thought a candidate must immediately commit to, Faiyaz chose two others lower down in the list: tackling the rampant drug abuse problem in the area, and converting slums into buildings or at least regularising them. "Residents here are constantly afraid of their homes being demolished despite having lived here for decades and having all the necessary proof. After Rane's speech, they are afraid that they will be branded Bangladeshis," he said. The two candidates now in the fray for the Mumbai North East seat, of which Govandi is a part, are Sanjay Dina Patil of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Mihir Kotecha of the BJP. The BJP hasn't campaigned much in the area except in small pockets where their workers live, said Forum members. However, Aaditya Thackeray held a huge rally here on April 3.

"We feel hopeful that the UBT candidate will sign the manifesto," said Forum members. The Forum has promised to campaign for whoever signs. "Our campaign then will not be on religious grounds, but will appeal to all those who live here," they pointed out.