BJP's Poonam Mahajan represents the Mumbai North Central parliamentary constituency. She is the daughter of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, and has been the national president of the BJP youth wing. She will square off against the Congress's Priya Dutt in what is expected to be a high octane battle. Here, Mahajan is in conversation with THE WEEK.
Edited excerpts:
What do you count among your achievements as an MP?
Before I started work in the constituency, I reached out to the public. But, we are all Mumbaikars, and we have seen the issues in the city. When I started my campaign, I understood there are many policy issues to be addressed. Let me give you an example. We talk about ODF (open defecation free). Wherever I went to, the people told me, Didi, ek acha toilet bana ke do (Please construct a proper toilet for us). And, it is not once or twice, I got that demand from 500 different places. Each and every ward was asking me (close to 42 wards) about it. I am now known as the toilet MP. I built almost 1428 toilets, in the model PPP (Public-Politician Partnership). I created that circle and completed it.
You were talking about policies.
When we talk about policies, we tend to focus on South Mumbai as the financial capital of Mumbai and India. But, the Bandra-Kurla complex, Bandra East and Kalina are the real melting pots of financial centres. And, there are the pressing issues of so many slums, which have not been rehabilitated. It was promised 20 years back. Housing is the biggest issue here.
Then, there is the airport. When the airport privatisation was happening, land was acquired. It was planned and promised to the public by earlier governments and the MP of this region that they will get their houses. They are not just slum dwellers, they are PAP (Project Affected People). When we came to power, we recognised them as PAP. They are not encroached people on that land. With all the happiness and pride, I can say that in five years I solved the issue for security of airport and its expansion; people living there for two-three generations got an opportunity to get their houses. In the next two to three months, 8,000 people will be shifted to a rehabilitated area in Kurla.
Many of these issues were just used as a vote bank. What I promised in 2014, I could actually fulfil it in 2019. It gives me immense satisfaction.
Some of the works that you are talking about are half-done, or mid-way. The announcements on these have been made just before the election campaign kicked off.
I would not say half-done. It’s about the intent of a person. What a person wants to do, and how it’s being done. If tomorrow, I am not there, the government still has to get it done. These are not half-done. Earlier, the process and the system were so broken. And, nothing was done. I always compare myself to my competition. It is not 100 per cent, but 80 per cent for sure.
Your opponent has been saying that the work she initiated hasn’t been completed in your term?
With due respect, I am handling her backlog also, which she left in the past 10 years. My next agenda will be the airport funnel zone area, where people are living, and can’t redevelop their houses because they come in the funnel of the airport. Now they come under a policy where they also get houses.
Led by the Modi wave in 2014, you won by a huge margin (1,86,000). People were desperate for change, I believe. What’s the sentiment that you are witnessing during your campaigns now?
Interestingly, this was not a BJP constituency. This was a Congress fortress. That’s what they use to call it. We could break that fortress. If you do the mathematics—from the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the 2014 Vidhan Sabha election and the 2017 corporation elections—the BJP only increased their votes. Today, along with our alliance partners, we have that kind of connect with people that the scenario has completely changed. We have much more power, much more strength, and more people support us.
Priya Dutt was out of the electoral fray for the last three years. She is back and I am sure the competition has toughened for you, given her 10 years of iron grip.
In 2014, we respectfully fought our battles. We will be doing the same thing in 2019. I always say that, in 2014, I was young and new [to Lok Sabha elections]. Now, I am confident enough of going back to people with the work that I have done.
What my opponent Ms Dutt [is planning] or why she was not in politics, or what she did now, is actually her personal affair. I should not be speaking much on it. What I feel is that they [Congress] could not even find another candidate in place of Dutt, who had to say that she was retiring to give time to children. Later on, she came back and said she was here because Rahulji wanted her to contest. Where are the people of Mumbai North Central? They didn’t want you to contest. I don’t want to get into it, but this just shows the seriousness of a candidate.
The constituency you represent has a lot of minority Muslims and Christians.
I think this question is asked by every person, especially who want to understand the arithmetic here. Let me put it this way: it’s all about how your party treats you and what the party has taught you, and what your sanskaar is. For me, I don’t decide my voters by religion or caste, or think that this booth won’t vote for me, and that ward won’t be with me, or that religion is not going to be with me. That is Congress's politics. Every person who meets me and lives in my constituency is mine. I believe that they voted for me.
The citizens in the constituency haven’t been too happy with the upkeep of the work, especially toilets and garbage dumps.
Who did you speak to? People in Bandra? What upkeep they are asking for I really don’t know, but we are always in touch—from environmental issues to infrastructure issues. They are not dissatisfied, but they always consciously make us do more, which is wonderful. I take it as a good challenge.
How has the MPLAD funds been used in your term?
As I mentioned earlier, I had to deal with the backlog of the former MP. One thing I got in 2014 was the half-used funds of our ex-MP. I utilised that also. If I had more, I would have pushed for more things.
If you win, what’s your focus going to be?
We are such a growing city. I am a part of the CM’s Boardroom, besides being the vice chair of the finance centre coming up in BKC. Mumbai needs a huge public transport connect. In the coming two years, you will see the public transport growing. With one ticket, you can connect the metro, railway, monorail and taxis together. When we come up with that agenda, you can look at Mumbai as a world-class city.
Mumbai has been crippled by too many mishaps in the recent few years.
I agree with you, and that’s why I am saying that we are working on it more and more. We are a work in progress. First, the work was stopped. It was never happening. Mishaps are really terrible. It shows that we need stricter measures. I think this is the first CM [Devendra Fadnavis] who is actually concentrating on this city and is aware of how important this city is and how it contributes to the GDP. I am looking forward to being a part of that vision.
You added chowkidaar to your name on Twitter…
I must have been the third person to do that. (chuckles)
What does the #mainbhichowkidaar campaign mean to you?
It is not a campaign, it is an emotion. What was the emotion? It is this entire agenda of eliteness of dynasty against the normal middle-class person. The eliteness of dynasty is terrible—questioning the prime minister’s intent, his background, calling him chaiwallah, and other names. You all have seen it for the past five years. What is wrong in saying I am a chowkidaar, and I want to stand by the people. The emotion is derived by this elite dynasty, which always puts him down. Just because he doesn’t have a background like these people.
It’s quite ironical because you also somehow fit into the category of dynasty politics?
It’s been thirteen years for me in this party. I have lost a credible election. I have won an election. I have worked as a national youth wing vice president, then became the national secretary. My journey was not easy. It’s not the dynasty we are looking at. We are looking at the legacy, which is always appreciated.
