Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

Swaraj Party (MSP) is a regional political party formed by the Christian community native to

Mumbai (Bombay) Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

city and the

Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area Mumbai Metropolitan Region (abbreviated to MMR and previously also as Greater Bombay Metropolitan Area), is a metropolitan area consisting of Mumbai (Bombay) and its satellite towns in the northern Konkan division, of the Maharashtra state in we ...

, in the

Konkan division The Konkan division is one of the six administrative divisions of Maharashtra state in India. It comprises the northern and central portions of the greater Konkani region, which were absorbed into Maharashtra owing to the States Reorganisati ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The party's name draws inspiration from the phrase "''

Swaraj Swarāj ( sa, स्वराज, translit=Svarāja '' sva-'' "self", '' raj'' "rule") can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule". It was first used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to attain self rule from the Mughal Empire and the Adil ...

'' is my birthright", coined by a

Bombay East Indian The East Indians, also called East Indian Catholics or Bombay East Indians, are an ethno-religious Indian Christian community native to the Seven Islands of Bombay and the neighbouring Mumbai Metropolitan Area of the Konkan Division. Histor ...

freedom fighter and Mumbai's first mayor of Indian origin, Joseph "Kaka" Baptista. Baptista was an associate and a

confidant The confidant ( or ; feminine: confidante, same pronunciation) is a character in a story whom a protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing ...

Lokmanya Tilak Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya (IAST: ''Lokmānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence a ...

who made the phrase popular. The organisation, aimed at representing the East Indian community, was initiated by various local NGO's like Watchdog Foundation, Mobai Gaothan Panchayat, Bombay East Indian Association, Vakola Advanced Locality Management, Kalina Civic Forum& the Kolovery Welfare Association. MSP plans expand to the rest of Maharashtra.

2014 Maharashtra Assembly Election

The party fielded five candidates from Mumbai's suburbs in the 13th

Maharashtra Legislative Assembly The Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha or the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the legislature of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated in the Nariman Point area of South Mumbai in the capital Mumbai. Presently, 288 memb ...

election. Since the organisation is not registered as a political party, the candidates were fielded as independents. Names of candidates announced by the party include: * Advocate Godfrey Pimenta - Vile Parle Vidhan Sabha Constituency * Advocate Vivian D’souza - Kalina Vidhan Sabha Constituency * Advocate Shane Cardoz - Bandra (W) Vidhan Sabha Constituency * Ashish Fernandes - Dahisar Vidhan Sabha Constituency * Tony Dsouza - Malad (W) Vidhan Sabha Constituency.

References

Political parties established in 2014 Political parties in Maharashtra Regionalist parties in India 2014 establishments in Maharashtra {{India-party-stub