Former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam while addressing party workers at his office in Andheri on Saturday referred to Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Gajanan Kirtikar as “Mr. India”, saying that he had not been seen for the last five years.

“I issued a challenge to Mr. Kirtikar to have a discussion on the work that he has done and the basis on which he is asking for votes, which he has turned down. He was not seen in the parliament many times, and is now asking for votes in the name of Mr. Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. We have not seen him for the last five years in the Parliament or in his constituency. He is the Mr. India of Mumbai North West,” Mr. Nirupam said, adding that the “Congress flag will definitely fly in Mumbai North West."

Mr. Nirupam also said. “For the last 19 to 20 days, I have been campaigning, and I am thankful to MLAs, MPs and Congress workers from different branches such as the Youth Congress, National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the All India Professionals' Congress (AIPC). We are one thousand per cent confident that we are going to win all the seats. I appeal to the cosmopolitan crowd of Mumbai to come out and vote with energy on the 29th.”

He also alleged that, with polling right around the corner, the Congress' opponents would try to play tricks to woo voters over the weekend.

“The two nights before the elections are going to be troublesome. The opposing party will resort to tricks to get voters. It is my request to all of you to be alert and make sure that people in your area vote,” Mr. Nirupam said, asking people to alert the authorities about any violation of the campaigning guidelines.