With barely five months left before the state assembly elections and barely a week away from the parliamentary poll results being out, major political parties in anticipation that NaMo will come to power, have installed Gujaratis in key party posts. 

 

Congress has appointed Pravin Chheda, corporator from Ghatkopar as its spokesperson, Chheda is also a favourite to get a assembly ticket from Ghatkopar where he is most likely to take on five time MLA and former BJP city unit chief Prakash Mehta.

 

 In the backdrop of the acrimony over the 'anti-Gujarati' editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana last week, the scramble to present a Gujarati face in the election season saw BJP not lagging far behind the Congress.

 

BJP's city unit asked Mulund corporator Manoj Kotak to take over from Dilip Patel, also a Gujarati, as group leader in the BJP. The controversy triggered by the Saamana editorial made BJP change its plans of having a Marathi face for the upcoming Assembly elections, said party sources, 

 

Sources added that senior leaders felt Kotak would be able to politically take on Chheda — corporator from Ghatkopar who was a one-time diehard BJP man for 20 years till he switched loyalties and joined the Congress in 2012.  While Chheda is aggressive and aspirational, Patel, sources said, was seen as 'mild-mannered' and didn't actively guide new corporators in the BMC. It was felt that the party's presence in the civic body was being overshadowed by its alliance partner, Shiv Sena. 

 

Says ParvinChheda, “Whatever role the party gives me I am ready to take the full responsibility.” On the other hand, Kotak  does not shy away from being a true Mumbaikar, “ I can communicate well in Marathi, and am on good terms with many leading Marathi personalities and leaders in different walks of life, including politics. It will be very easy task for me to take the Marathi and Gujarati people to work along with me. I spent my childhood with Marathi friends.” 

 

None of this, however, appeared to convince the MNS. "All political parties are trying to keep their vote banks intact."The BJP feels that Gujaratis are their voters and they are adopting these tactics to keep them in good humour," said Sandeep Deshpande, MNS group leader in BMC.