In a conversation with LokmatTimes.com, Vaishali Darekar-Rane, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate for the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency, shared her vision for the high-profile Kalyan seat with a main focus on solving the civic issues that impact citizens if voted to power. She highlighted the issues of railway commuters and the need for road widening to solve the traffic congestion in the city instead of just beautification. Darekar-Rane also stated that her prime focus will be on healthcare and strengthening the government hospitals and maternity homes, which she accused are neglected by the sitting MP Shrikant Shinde despite being a doctor himself. "He seems to be underconfident, and people at the ground level are dissatisfied with his work," she said.
When asked about her plans for the voters, Darekar-Rane said, “I have to cater to the voters from Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan, etc. All these cities are majorly linked by the railway, as we can see from the highest footfall of commuters from these cities. Even after increasing the frequency of trains, there is a lot of rush. I want to address this problem by creating and boosting alternative routes. For this, road widening is necessary. If elected to power, I will work on the infrastructural development in the Kalyan constituency.”
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Darekar-Rane stated that no parallel road to the railway line is available. Bhiwandi Phata and Shilphata are messed up with traffic. She appreciated the idea of the newly built Thane Dombivli Mankoli Bridge, which will reduce the time between Dombivli and Thane to just 20 minutes. However she claimed that the road to go to the bridge is bottleneck and no adequate work is done over there. "The bridge is constructed without any vision or planning. No over-bridge facility is available for commuters. When a shutter train passes by, people from both sides get blocked. The traffic jam is likely to take place and it is difficult to reach Thane in 20 minutes."
Darekar-Rane looks forward to improving government and municipality schools in the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat. "I want the education to be accessible and affordable to all. What about those students who can't afford education? Where will they go? Many BMC schools have received affiliation from CBSE. We can implement this in Kalyan, too. She slammed Shinde of neglecting the primary healthcare centers. “There are many private hospitals, but what about maintaining government hospitals? If I become the MP, I will focus on this sector,” told Darekar-Rane.
Darekar-Rane took a dig on Shinde over the delay in the construction of the Palava Bridge. “MIDC road is built, but just for the sake of beautification. There is no proper stormwater drainage available. The size of the road is very high compared to the size of the nearby houses. KDMC engineers are not taken into account,” told Darekar-Rane. The environment will also be a prime focus for her. She said, “ Massive concretization around trees should stop immediately. Plants should not left to die. Blatant mismanagement and wasted of public money should not be done.” She promised to build more amusement parks and green spaces and maintain the lakes in her constituency.
Exuding self-assurance, she declared that an ordinary worker like herself would fight formidable against any opponent in the electoral battle. "They are trying to play the Hindutva card. For me, Hindutva means justice for all. I will concentrate on civic issues and campaign with unwavering dedication," she affirmed.
Addressing the internal power struggle between the BJP and Shinde Sena over the final candidate selection, Rane quipped with a touch of humour, "Shrikant Shinde from Shinde Sena and Ravindra Chavan from BJP should toss a coin and decide. Mayuti is undoubtedly going to lose, as our focus remains firmly on the core issues that impact the common citizens."