Mumbai North East Lok Sabha Election 2024: Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Can Turn Gamechanger For Sanjay Dina Patil

Despite issues such as missing names from the voter list and malfunctioning voting machines, the North East Mumbai constituency recorded a 56.37% voter turnout. This is slightly lower than the 57.15% turnout in the last Lok Sabha election. The increased turnout in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, a region previously in the news for stone-pelting incidents, illegal activities, and renaming controversies, has sparked both concern and renewed hope for victory among candidates.

The contest here is intense between Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate Sanjay Dina Patil and Mahayuti candidate Mihir Kotecha. Out of 1,636,890 registered voters in the constituency, 922,760 cast their ballots. Among the six assembly segments—Mulund, Bhandup West, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar West, Ghatkopar East, and Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar—Mulund, considered a BJP stronghold, saw the highest turnout at 61.33%. Ghatkopar East had a 57.85% turnout, and Ghatkopar West had 55.90%. These three segments are crucial for Kotecha, as BJP holds all three seats. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, these areas had turnouts of 63.66%, 61.27%, and 55.89%, respectively.

In Bhandup, which has a significant Konkani Marathi voter base, the turnout was 58.53%, and in Vikhroli, it was 54.45%. In 2019, these figures were 58.99% and 57.30%. With two Shiv Sena MLAs in these areas, Patil could benefit from these votes. While the five assembly segments show a close contest, the increased turnout in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar could be decisive and might boost Patil's vote share.

In 2014, the constituency had a 40% voter turnout, which increased to 47% in 2019. This time, it reached 50.48%. The constituency has been a hotbed of accusations and counter-accusations from the start.

On election day, many polling centers reported slow voting, and one center faced delays due to a malfunctioning machine. Despite these issues, a large number of voters turned out. Therefore, the voting patterns in this area could be decisive. The voter turnout data will be crucial in determining which candidate will ultimately prevail.