The Bandra east constituency is set to witness a tough contest as Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Varun Sardesai takes on incumbent MLA and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Zeeshan Siddique. Known as Vandre east assembly constituency, the area is also home to Matoshree, family home of the Thackerays. The issue of housing and stalled redevelopment project looms large here and the Free Press Journal spoke to Sena UBT's Varun Sardesai over the issues and the contest from Bandra East.

How confident are you about your chances of winning from Bandra east?

I am very confident of winning and winning by a huge margin. For the last so many days - not just from the day I filed nomination - I have tried to reach not just every gully but actually visited every door. If you compare the media coverage regarding my ascent as a candidate and my campaigning, from the time I was nominated to now, there has been a sea-change and the response to me has been extremely positive.

You are up against Zeeshan Siddique, the incumbent MLA and a popular face. What do you have to say about the contest?

Zeeshan got a chance five years ago. But sadly, he has not been able to show even one remarkable project in this constituency. There is not a single housing project that has been kicked off, nor have the stalled SRA projects made any progress. And hence people are not happy. The government colony residents have still not They have gotten their permanent housing. A lot of people are still waiting for clearances from the central government. Nothing has happened on that front.

I want to ask Zeeshan a question. Why did he desert Congress when the party gave him everything. Also, he is making an attempt to hide that he is contesting on a Mahayuti ticket and that his party is in alliance with the BJP. While campaigning in Muslim dominated areas in Bandra east, Zeeshan is not using the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What is he trying to hide?

Zeeshan Siddique has sympathy on his side due to the killing of his father Baba Siddique? How big a role will that play in the elections?

There is sympathy with Zeeshan Siddique but that sympathy will not get translated into votes. He got five years after 2019 when he won on a Congress ticket and recently he joined Modi government, but he has not helped get the land cleared from railway or defense, which is why the people there are also angry with him. I don't see any work on ground. Which is why people will vote for me even though he has sympathy of voters.

What are the pressing issues in this constituency?

Housing, traffic and congestion are the three main issues in this constituency. I want to improve the path and decongest the roads to the railway stations in Bandra, Khar and Santacruz. Access to BKC has become a nighmare. I have time and again said that Bandra east is a place where efforts cannot be piecemeal. Planned housing development is the only solution.

The land and real-estate prices in Bandra are so high. It's like people are living on a goldmine and yet they are forced to live with basic problems like waterlogging and bad roads. It's not correct.

Bandra East is home to Matoshree where Balasaheb Thackeray lived and Uddhav Thackeray lives with his family. Is there added pressure to win the seat on you?

Not at all. I am someone who I likes such situations. I like taking high performance targets. In fact, the party has always trusted me with such
responsibilities, be it elections in Palghar or elections in the rural parts of
Maharashtra. Whenever there is a high pressure situation, the party has believed in me and I have delivered. Not a single time I have failed. The
University Senate elections were also a prime example of that. Every odd was pitched against us, including the State Government, and we fought till Supreme Court and we won 10 out of 10 seats in the senate elections.