Will it be a tough fight for BJP's Kapil Patil in Bhiwandi?

Bhiwandi, the centre point of trade, has a huge amount of garment factories which provides employment to many in the textile industry. The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kapil Patil won the 2014 Lok Sabha election by a margin of one lakh votes. This time, Patil is contesting against Congress candidate Suresh Tawre. 

From Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to BJP

Kapil Patil started his political career with the National Congress Party (NCP). However, late BJP leader Gopinath Munde convinced Patil to join BJP after which the latter contested 2014 national election from Bhiwandi constituency. However, despite the Modi wave, Patil only managed to get four lakh votes while his opponent Vishwanath Patil from Congress got three lakh votes. 

Why Patil joined BJP?

Prior to the 2014 general elections, Patil has served as the President of Thane district council. Patil quit NCP and joined BJP after the Bhiwandi LS seat was given to Congress during Congress-NCP alliance earlier. Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde played a major role in Patil’s entry in the party.

Voters in Bhiwandi

As per the statistics, Bhiwandi LS constituency has more voters from the Muslims community. Of all the communities, there is 65 per cent of Muslim voters in the constituency. Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) largely had an influence in the area. In the year 2009, Bhiwandi was yet again declared as the Lok Sabha constituency. 

Can Congress be a problem?

In Bhiwandi Municipal Corporation, the Congress has a stronghold. Along with this, Shiv Sena won in the Gram Panchayat elections. A slight change in votes can turn the tables against BJP’s Kapil Patil. During the 2014 national elections, Patil merely won by a margin of one lakh votes. 

Facilities

In the constituency, there is still a lack of public transportation. Along with this, Bhiwandi being the centre point of trade faces heavy traffic due to narrow roads. The electricity is also a big worry in the area.

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After Gopinath Munde convinced Kapil Patil to join BJP before the 2014 national election, Patil managed to break Congress’ hold in Bhiwandi constituency. However, Patil won by a margin of merely one lakh votes despite the so-called Modi wave. As several voters remain unhappy with the work in the constituency, Patil will have to campaign rigidly.