The upcoming election in Malad (West), one of Mumbai’s largest assembly constituencies is set to be a high-stakes contest between Congress and BJP. For over two decades, Congress has dominated this seat with sitting MLA and former state minister Aslam Shaikh seeking re-election. However, Shaikh faces a strong challenge from BJP’s Vinod Shelar brother of BJP’s Mumbai president, Ashish Shelar.
Spanning from Malad Railway Station to Madh Village, Malad (West) covers 16 kilometers making it the longest constituency in Mumbai. It’s also one of the city’s most densely populated areas, home to Malvani, one of the largest slums in Mumbai after Dharavi. This constituency struggles with issues such as illegal encroachment, drug abuse and limited space for infrastructure expansion.
Shelar, currently BJP’s Mumbai general secretary and a former municipal corporator from Malad (East) has promised a “much-needed facelift” for the area if elected.
“Even though Congress has held power for 25 years, development has not taken place in the constituency. There is no respect for law and order and the area suffers from issues like drug peddling and illegal encroachment,” Shelar said to the media.
Shelar also pledged to make Malvani drug-free within four months of forming the government along with plans to alleviate traffic congestion.
Shaikh, who has represented Malad (West) since 2009 and previously served as a civic corporator for ten years argued that development in the constituency has accelerated recently.
“Infrastructure expansion is my key objective. After winning the last election, we proposed a flyover at Mith Chowky, which we delivered within the deadline despite pandemic delays. My constituency has the longest concretized roads,” Shaikh said.
Shaikh added that future projects include the Madh-Versova and Lagoon Road flyovers, while opposing the proposed Dharavi Housing Project which he described as a “land-grabbing scheme.”
Malad (West) has a diverse population with Muslims making up about 27.7%, Christians around 5% and sizable communities of the Koli community, East Indians and other local groups. Since the formation of the Shiv Sena-BJP government in 2022, ruling leaders including Mumbai’s guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha have visited the area frequently, sometimes stirring communal tension. Lodha’s rally in Malvani where he referred to the area as a haven for “Rohingya Muslims” has sparked controversy before.
Shaikh criticized BJP’s approach by saying, “For the last two years, the ruling BJP-Sena government has tried divisive politics. But they have failed, and they couldn’t find a suitable local candidate. I have been working here for more than 20 years and have grassroots connections with the people.” In previous elections, Shaikh defeated BJP candidates by notable margins winning by 10,400 votes in 2019 and by 2,500 in 2014. The constituency falls under Mumbai (North) Lok Sabha constituency where Congress led in Malad (West) by 975 votes in the 2024 general elections.
Shelar emphasized his deep roots in Malad by saying, “I have been working in north Mumbai for 30 years and know the area in and out.”
Both Shaikh and Shelar were nominated in the first list of their parties. Meanwhile, Brijesh Singh an RSS worker and former general secretary of BJP’s North India Cell filed his nomination as an independent candidate by voicing concerns over BJP’s candidate selection.
“In 2012, there were only 100-150 BJP workers in Malad West, now there are 1,500. The candidate fielded by BJP isn’t aware of the local issues and was given a ticket due to family ties,” Singh said.
