• 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 Kamgar Sena (BKS), the labor wing of the Shiv Sena. 

He has won from the Mumbai South constituency twice in 2014 and 2019, and continues to be on a strong footing as he prepares for his third Lok Sabha term. His opponent coalition, the Mahayuti alliance, is yet to announce their candidate with leaders such as former speaker Rahul Narwekar, legislator Mangal Prabhat Lodha and Yashwant Jadhav vying for the ticket.

In 2019, he defeated Milind Deora of the Congress by getting 52.64% of the votes. In 2014 too, he had defeated Deora by getting 48% of the votes. 

Mumbai South constituency has strong pockets of the Gujarati and Muslim community since it includes the assembly constituencies of Colaba, Mumbadevi, Byculla, Malabar Hill, Worli and Sewri. The constituency is home to some of the richest citizens in the country including the Ambani’s, the Birla’s, the Singhania’s. It also includes the VIP zones that house the state ministers and major government and corporate offices.

It is a testament to his political prowess that he managed to win two terms from Mumbai South constituency, which is not exactly a stronghold of the Maharashtrian community.

A hardcore Shiv Sainik right from the beginning of his political career, he continues to be with the Uddhav Thackeray wing of the party.  

Who is Arvind Sawant?

Online presence:

• Website: https://arvindsawant.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArvindGSawant/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agsawant/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC23rAF-ZPMmXm3hhPh6E53Q
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AGSawant

Read more: As coastal road project advances, fishers worry about boats and livelihoods

Criminal cases against Arvind Sawant

There are ten cases registered against Arvind Sawant under various charges of unlawful assembly (section 143), rioting (section 146), charged for wrongful restraint (section 341 ), causing assault using force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty (IPC Section-353) as also for causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees (IPC Section-427). 

Assets and liabilities of Arvind Sawant

Positions held by Arvind Sawant

He served as the union cabinet minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises for a very short term from May to November 2019, before he resigned due to the split between the BJP and his Shiv Sena over government formation in Maharashtra. 

• In 17th Lok Sabha:
  • Union Cabinet minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (30 May, 2019 – 12 Nov, 2019)  
  • Standing Committee Membership — Railways (2020-2022)
  • Standing Committee – Rural development and Panchayati Raj (Sept -Dec 2022)
• In 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019):
  • Member – Estimates Committee 
  • Member – Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas (2014-25)
  • Member – Consultative Committee, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology 
• 1996-2010:  Member, Maharashtra Legislative Council

(Source: https://sansad.in/ls )

Performance in Parliament

Arvind Sawant is a committed parliamentarian and has 90% attendance and active participation in debates, both above national average.

17th Lok Sabha term:

16th Lok Sabha term:

He introduced private members bills on Introduction of the Designation of States As Sponsor of Terrorism Bill, 2017. In Parliament, he also raised the issue of the urgent need for approvals for redevelopment of the dilapidated chawls of Sewri on the Mumbai Port Trust land.

He also raised the issue of lack of safety measures of workers involved in the shipbuilding industry. He discussed the need to revive MTNL and BSNL and also pushed for giving classical language status for Marathi. He also demanded reservation of the Maratha community under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category by extending the set reservation limit beyond 50%. 

He has raised questions in Parliament about the number of road accidents in Maharashtra, demanding tagging of climate budget in the budgetary processes, protesting against the price hike of cooking gas and also sought questions about survey of slums in urban areas. 

Arvind Sawant’s MPLADS Spending

Most of his MPLAD has been spent on community toilets , community centres and halls, construction of bus shelters and bus stops, common sitting area and work sheds, installation of fixed gym equipment, public libraries and reading rooms, drinking water pipelines etc. Out of 419 recommended works, 393 have been completed.

He has also funded new ambulances and repairs of schools in his constituency. Sawant says that his neighbourhood is impoverished and needs repairs and redevelopment. 

Arvind Sawant in news

Over the past few weeks, candidature of Mumbai South Constituency has been in the news over various leaders trying to get a ticket. Even after Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena announced Arvind Sawant as the candidate for MVA alliance, the opponent candidates have not been announced.

Last year, Sawant was in the news when another Maharashtra leader Narayan Rane became aggressive in the Parliament and snapped at Sawant. He was recently acquitted in a 2005 case, where he, along with other Sena leaders were booked for protests against Narayan Rane, when he was expelled from the party.

He also met the President, as a part of delegation from Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena, urging to increase reservation limit as a solution to make reservations for Marathas possible.

People speak

Devendra Tandel, who was born and brought up in the Cuffe Parade Koliwada, says that his neighbourhood has failed to register any major changes either in terms of improvements of services or resources.

“Basic services like regular drinking water supply, cleanliness and sanitation  continues to be a concern in our Koliwadas in spite of promises of being developed as tourist hubs. The tourists do visit our residential colonies but tend to take back images of these being ghettos. Our demand for redevelopment on our terms continues to evade us and it takes much resistance to fight us being termed as slums that need to be rehabilitated in flats,” he said.

Tandel added, “We also had to put up a long battle to get the government to introduce simple design changes in infrastructure projects like coastal roads to protect our livelihoods. A simple sensitive approach from the state could have prevented much bad blood between citizens and the State.”

He is also upset at the abject lack of support from the  government towards the fishing support infrastructure like markets. “Existing prominent markets like Crawford Market were callously shifted to places like Airoli impacting our supply chain mechanism on the flimsy excuse of keeping Mumbai city clean and stench-free,” he points out. 

Makarand Tasgaonkar from the BDD residents association, says that though the BDD redevelopment project is on schedule, people are uneasy and feel cheated as realisation dawns on them that they would have to live in houses that lack basic sunlight and ventilation.

“In the name of turning Mumbai into Shanghai or even a smart city, tall buildings that lack town planning norms and lack fire safety mechanisms are mushrooming all over the city. Projects like the Atal Setu have failed to reduce travel time except for those going to places like Uran or Alibaug. The textile hubs and labour population have been pushed out of the city and Mumbai is a pale shadow of its own self. People are seeing through this and this anger will reflect in the elections,” says Tasgaonkar. 

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