City: Mumbai

Name: Arvind Sawant Constituency: Mumbai South Two-term member of Parliament from Mumbai South constituency, Arvind Sawant, 73, started his political journey as a party worker with the Shiv Sena, when he started participating in agitations such as the Maharashtra- Karnataka border dispute protests.  He got into the trade union movement, when he founded the workers union of the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam limited (MTNL), where he worked.  Subsequently, he quit his job in 1995 to plunge into full-time politics and was nominated twice as member of legislative council ( MLC) from 1996-2010. He also played an active role in the Bharatiya…

As the Lok Sabha 2024 election is underway, political parties have released their election manifestos. What do the parties promise for us urban residents? How do they plan to make our cities sustainable and liveable? Why cities matter In 2022, approximately a third of the total population in India lived in cities. The trend shows an increase in urbanisation by more than 4% over the last decade, which means that people have moved away from rural areas to find work and make a living in the cities. The demographic dividend of India is significant, with 65% of its population being…

The 2024 Parliamentary Elections saw over 600 million voters choose 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha. Find out more about your elected representative, their promises and how you can hold them accountable over the next five years! Meet your new MPs! Chennai Chennai North - Dr Kalanidhi Veerasamy Chennai Central - Dayanidhi Maran Chennai South - Thamizhachi Thangapandian Bengaluru Bangalore North Bangalore Central Bangalore South Bangalore Rural Mumbai Mumbai North - Piyush Goyal Mumbai South - Arvind Sawant Mumbai North East - Sanjay Dina Patil Mumbai North West - Ravindra Waikar Mumbai North Central - Varsha Gaikwad Mumbai South…

Once a year, I inadvertently overhear someone wondering aloud about the sea level while crossing the Mahim or Thane Creek bridges without realising that the sea has tides. Similar conversations are heard at the beaches too. The Bandra Worli Sea Link, which now features in almost every movie about Mumbai, as seen from Mahim. Pic: MS Gopal Not being aware of tides often leads to lovers being stranded on the rocks along the coast, or even people getting washed away by waves during the monsoons. People regularly throng the sea-fronts of Mumbai - sometimes the beaches, sometimes the promenades, but…

Name: Manoj Kotak Constituency: Mumbai North East Manoj Kotak started working for the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1989. Before being elected as an MP from the Mumbai North East constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha elections (2019), he served as a Municipal Corporator from Mulund from 2007 to 2019. In the 2019 elections, Manoj Kotak got 56.61 percent of the total of 9,09,181 votes cast, getting 5,14,599 votes. He defeated his nearest rival, Sanjay Dina Patil of the NCP by 2,26,486 votes. Kotak was chosen to contest the elections instead of popular leader Kirit Somaiya, who was reportedly gearing…

TapTap wristbands for metro passengers Passengers on the Metro 1 line, which runs from Ghatkopar to Versova, will have a new ticketing option in the near future. Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL) has introduced a QR-coded wristband dubbed TapTap.  Passengers will be able to tap their wristbands at the automated fare collection gate (AFC). With an inaugural price of Rs 200, these wearable metro tickets are available at all customer care windows on the metro line. According to MMOPL, the TapTap wristbands are made of a silicone based material that is non-allergenic. They are water-proof and operate without a battery.…

The two-time Lok Sabha MP representing Mumbai South Central constituency, Rahul Ramesh Shewale from Shiv Sena has quite a long history in politics. He was a corporator of BMC and was nominated the Chairman of the BMC Standing Committee, four times from 2010 - 2014, before running for parliament. He was elected as MP in the 16th (2009) and 17th (2014) Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai South Central, one of the biggest constituencies in Mumbai, comprising areas such as Chembur, Anuksathi Nagar, Wadala, Sion Koliwada, and Dharavi. Recently, the bid for redevelopment project of Dharavi, one of the largest informal settlements in Asia…

How do you check if your name is on the electoral rolls? How do you locate your polling booth? Who are the candidates in your constituency? Can you still vote if you don't have a voter ID card? Follow the Citizen Matters voters guide for quick answers to these questions and more. Election of the 18th Lok Sabha will be conducted in seven phases in all starting April 19 and ending on June 1 2024. Counting of votes is scheduled on June 4. In this mammoth and most challenging exercise in the world’s most populous democracy, it is crucial for every…

Cleanup Marshals are back in Mumbai “The Cleanup Marshal” scheme has been reintroduced by the BMC from 2nd April after a gap of two years. The scheme has been launched on a pilot basis in the A Ward. The marshals are now equipped with a mobile app via which they can issue penalty receipts to people caught littering. When launched earlier, there were complaints that the marshals were not issuing receipts and were carrying out extortion of tourists: the reason why the scheme was discontinued by the BMC in 2011. This system does away with physical receipts. Penalties can also…

Name: Shrikant Shinde Constituency: Kalyan Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde is an orthopaedic surgeon and now a full time politician. The two term MP from Kalyan constituency is getting groomed to be the second most powerful leader in Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction, after his father. Shrikant is a fresh face in the Maharashtra Politics. In 2014, this young politician was in the final year of M.S. (Orthopaedics) when he became MP for the 16th Lok Sabha at the age of 27 - the youngest Maratha member of the parliament ever. In the year 2019, he got…