Rajendra Pandharpure

From the fight over DJ noise to questions over a midnight arrest, two controversies have exposed an uncomfortable gap between the BJP’s rhetoric on citizens’ rights and the conduct of its local establishment The BJP in Pune is facing mounting criticism over two separate but politically resonant episodes — the assault on citizen activist Vidyanand Bapat, who had campaigned against loud DJ systems, and the arrest of YouTuber Santosh Pandit, a familiar civic commentator who has repeatedly...

As DJs, Dolby systems and crowded mandaps return, Pune residents are pushing back against noise and traffic during the city’s biggest festival. Pune: The majority of the city’s residents have impotently opposed the use of ear-splitting DJ systems during the Ganeshotsav festival year after year. This year, citizens are voicing their opposition through various channels, while also expressing strong disapproval of festival mandaps (temporary pavilions) that obstruct traffic. Mayor Manjusha...

Rahul Gandhi’s student outreach is giving the Congress a boost in western Maharashtra but converting street energy into electoral momentum will be the harder task. Pune: For a party that has spent much of the past dozen years looking politically exhausted, the Congress is finally showing signs of life. It appears that Rahul Gandhi’s Chhatron Ki Goonj (“Voice of Students”) campaign, which brought him to Pune has provided Maharashtra Congress workers with a much-needed sense of political...