Lok Sabha 2019: Why Urmila Matondkar is the perfect candidate for Congress in Mumbai-North
Glamour quotient — 
Marathi manas —
A slight tug at the secular thread —
A day after Jaya Prada rejoined the BJP — the 5th party badal in her political career — the National Congress welcomed Urmila Matondkar into their camp.
14 days to elections, final garnishing time!
Now, if this was a glamour war, the Congress has won it already — as much as we love Jaya, Urmila is Urmila!
Besides, you ought to trust Urmila's claims from back in 1998, when, swaying lasciviously to Chhamma Chhamma (China Gate) she promised to rock "UP and MP!"
But here’s the thing. It's not a glamour war (only) — it's a well-thought-out strategy on the Congress’s part.
Rumour has it that Urmila will be given a ticket from Mumbai-North. Now, the Congress had been looking for a high-profile candidate to take on the BJP’s Gopal Shetty from the Mumbai-North constituency, but after a slew of refusals — from Mohammed Azharuddin to Raj Babbar — Urmila emerges as the perfect fit.
Congress President @RahulGandhi welcomes Smt. Urmila Matondkar to the Congress Party. pic.twitter.com/4iZHAy9Nn8
— Congress (@INCIndia) March 27, 2019
Urmila is a star — and not from too long ago. Her comeback to Bollywood was as recent as last year with a special number in the Irrfan Khan-starrer Blackmail. For a part of Mumbai that is far removed from the glittery glamour of SoBo (South Mumbai) or the posh parts of the western suburbs, Urmila is a dazzling candidate.
Yet, Mumbai-North has a very Marathi core, which is where Urmila, a Marathi manas — a daughter of the soil — will also establish a strong connection with the people. She is an insider and one who appeals to outsiders too!
Finally, the fact that Urmila is married to Mohsin Akhtar Mir, a businessman and model, 10 years younger than her, rings a bell with the youth. Urmila now stands as a strong woman who, even in the wake of criticism, married someone a decade younger, all for love. That he happens to be of another religion — think of the 'love-jihad' trolls she had had to face back in 2016 when they were getting married — immediately projects it in sharp contrast to the BJP’s ‘othering’ politics.
Will Urmila be able to wipe Gopal Shetty out? Political pundits do not have an answer to that yet. But at the moment, what Urmila brings to the table, with Mumbai’s vast and mixed ideologies and preferences behind it, seems promising.
PS: In the very same song, we were promised one could lose "Bambai, Patna and Kalkatta" to her charm. Perhaps it's time for the song to ring true!