Which is the Real Sena?

Can BJP wrest Mumbai from Thackeray Sena?

- Shweta Desai

HOURS after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Mumbai's Ghatkopar suburb on May 15, cabbie Piyanand Bhatia inspected the damage to his kaali-peeli taxi, crushed by iron girders of the mammoth hoarding, which had collapsed two days ago.

The illegally erected 120-foot-tall billboard weighing 250 tonnes crashed, killing 17 people after a dust storm lashed across the city on May 13. An operation to retrieve dead bodies was still underway as Modi's entourage cheerfully waved at supporters just a few metres away, ahead of the final phase of Lok Sabha election campaigning.

Staring at his mangled vehicle, Bhatia is grateful to have narrowly escaped death but he is also distraught at losing his job, which will keep him out of work for months. "Nothing is left; the taxi is worth scrap. I will not even get any compensation. Modi was campaigning just metres away, but he did not make any announcements about us or even think of visiting the site to check on us. People like us do not matter in elections," he sighs.

Ahead of the PM's roadshow, last-minute metro suspensions and roadblocks put in place due to security reasons, caused chaos and near stampedes. Videos of overcrowded metro stations and the hoarding collapse went viral. However, Ghatkopar's tragedies found no mention in the PM's public appearances, even during peak election season.

Raj Gaikwad, stuck in Jagruti Nagar metro station for over an hour, called it "insensitive of the PM," not to acknowledge the hoarding accident victims or the hardships faced by commuters due to public service closures. "It was a dangerous situation and could have led to another accident. Modi only wants the BJP to win Mumbai but does not care about its people. He did not find it worth it to address the woes in the constituency he was visiting," he said in anger.