February 16: Ecology and development, wealthy orchard owners and humble fisherfolk, tribal artisans and youth influenced by the mercantile culture of Mumbai. The eco-fragile Dahanu constituency has its bag full of contradictory interest groups, making electioneering tough for all political parties.Closest to the hustle and bustle of mainland Mumbai and yet abundant with lush green forests falls Dahanu, the home of Warli tribe and several Irani orchard owners.Comprising Dahanu city, Wada, Javhar, Bhivandi, Shahpur and Igatpuri talukas in the east-west direction, this constituency stretches from the coast up to the Sahyadris in the Igatpuri taluka which falls under the jurisdiction of Nashik district.Though elections-1998 here have become a pitch battle between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party, it is almost impossible to distinguish between the two, if one judges them by the answers they have for perennially bugging questions among the voters.So what happens toDahanu if the Australian multi-national, P&O Ports was allowed to construct 29 berth port near Wadhavan village is the question making the rounds among orchard owners and fish farmers. The parties in the fray, however, have different answers for different interest groups, which at best, could be described as ambiguous. While local BJP functionaries have been in the forefront of the anti-port movement, the alliance government is out to amend every law impeding the port's construction. On the other hand, the CPM, has been opposing the Sena-BJP, but has maintained complete silence on the issue.This ambiguity among political parties at the hustings has pushed them into the background, while the candidates' personal credentials are expected to influence the electoral behaviour in this constituency, which is reserved for the scheduled tribes.Nearly a lakh people commute to Mumbai from these areas daily for their livelihood. Thane Collectorate officials feel that migration has led to civic and infrastructuralproblems in these areas, and other places like Wada, Javhar and Dahanu may face similar problems in coming years.The Congress, in fact, was not interested in contesting the seat. Its alliance partner, Samajwadi Party, was to be given the seat earlier. However, for unspecified reasons, the Congress fielded their own candidate Shankar Nam, dislodging former MP Damu Shingda. Shingda is now contesting for the party from Dadra and Nagar Haveli constituency.This Congress move has attracted severe criticism from party inmates. A councillor in Dahanu said, "Nobody (in Congress) wanted to have an SP candidate to fight the BJP. Fortunately, Nam was chosen for the seat and we feel the battle will be only limited with the BJP."The third main player in the fray is the CPM's Rajaram Ozare. In the 1996 polls, Ozare had pulled in 1,36,369 votes, while Shingda had conceded defeat against Wanaga by polling 1,53,870 as against Wanaga's 2,26,388. This time also, a majority of constituents in Shahpur, Bhivandi and Dahanufeel that it is the BJP who will score over the Congress and the CPM as it (the BJP) has done some good work by providing potable water to small villages in the area. Several other problems including electric supply and bus stands have also been constructed in the last two years by the constant efforts of the BJP.Congress party workers however refute the claims, saying "The BJP has only completed what we had started. If it were not for the 1996 polls, we would have been able to complete our targets," said a senior party worker in Shahpur.
