top of page

By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Shinde dilutes demand

Likely to be content with Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai Mumbai: In a decisive shift that redraws the power dynamics of Maharashtra’s urban politics, the standoff over the prestigious Mumbai Mayor’s post has ended with a strategic compromise. Following days of resort politics and intense backroom negotiations, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has reportedly diluted its demand for the top job in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), settling instead for the Deputy Mayor’s post. This...

Shinde dilutes demand

Likely to be content with Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai Mumbai: In a decisive shift that redraws the power dynamics of Maharashtra’s urban politics, the standoff over the prestigious Mumbai Mayor’s post has ended with a strategic compromise. Following days of resort politics and intense backroom negotiations, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has reportedly diluted its demand for the top job in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), settling instead for the Deputy Mayor’s post. This development, confirmed by high-ranking party insiders, follows the realization that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) effectively ceded its claims on the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to protect the alliance, facilitating a “Mumbai for BJP, Kalyan for Shinde” power-sharing formula. The compromise marks a complete role reversal between the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Both the political parties were in alliance with each other for over 25 years before 2017 civic polls. Back then the BJP used to get the post of Deputy Mayor while the Shiv Sena always enjoyed the mayor’s position. In 2017 a surging BJP (82 seats) had paused its aggression to support the undivided Shiv Sena (84 seats), preferring to be out of power in the Corporation to keep the saffron alliance intact. Today, the numbers dictate a different reality. In the recently concluded elections BJP emerged as the single largest party in Mumbai with 89 seats, while the Shinde faction secured 29. Although the Shinde faction acted as the “kingmaker”—pushing the alliance past the majority mark of 114—the sheer numerical gap made their claim to the mayor’s post untenable in the long run. KDMC Factor The catalyst for this truce lies 40 kilometers north of Mumbai in Kalyan-Dombivali, a region considered the impregnable fortress of Eknath Shinde and his son, MP Shrikant Shinde. While the BJP performed exceptionally well in KDMC, winning 50 seats compared to the Shinde faction’s 53, the lotter for the reservation of mayor’s post in KDMC turned the tables decisively in favor of Shiv Sena there. In the lottery, the KDMC mayor’ post went to be reserved for the Scheduled Tribe candidate. The BJP doesn’t have any such candidate among elected corporatros in KDMC. This cleared the way for Shiv Sena. Also, the Shiv Sena tied hands with the MNS in the corporation effectively weakening the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s alliance with them. Party insiders suggest that once it became clear the BJP would not pursue the KDMC Mayor’s chair—effectively acknowledging it as Shinde’s fiefdom—he agreed to scale down his demands in the capital. “We have practically no hope of installing a BJP Mayor in Kalyan-Dombivali without shattering the alliance locally,” a Mumbai BJP secretary admitted and added, “Letting the KDMC become Shinde’s home turf is the price for securing the Mumbai Mayor’s bungalow for a BJP corporator for the first time in history.” The formal elections for the Mayoral posts are scheduled for later this month. While the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA)—led by the Shiv Sena (UBT)—has vowed to field candidates, the arithmetic heavily favors the ruling alliance. For Eknath Shinde, accepting the Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai is a tactical retreat. It allows him to consolidate his power in the MMR belt (Thane and Kalyan) while remaining a partner in Mumbai’s governance. For the BJP, this is a crowning moment; after playing second fiddle in the BMC for decades, they are poised to finally install their own “First Citizen” of Mumbai.

A Patient Investor

Vijay Kedia

Vijay Kedia is a celebrated investor who has amassed significant wealth through patient long-term investments. He entered the market at the age of 19 and has been active in it ever since. Kedia and his firm, Kedia Securities Pvt. Ltd., hold the significant stakes in numerous publicly traded companies. His interest in the stock market blossomed at the age of 14, leading him to start trading at 19. Initially, he attempted to profit from short-term trades but ultimately failed.


After a period, he moved from his hometown of Kolkata to Mumbai in pursuit of better opportunities. After unsuccessful attempts in speculative trading, he shifted his focus to long-term investment strategies. Faced with severe financial difficulties, Kedia chose to take control of his destiny.


It was in 1992, during a bull market phase, that he experienced a stroke of luck. This marked the beginning of Vijay Kedia's investment journey, starting with a modest investment of 35,000 in Punjab Tractors, a move that turned out to be a pivotal decision. Subsequently, in 2004 and 2005, he invested in three small-cap companies: Atul Auto, Aegis Logistics, and Cera Sanitaryware, which saw their values increase over 100 times in the next decade.


Kedia is a firm believer in the SMILE principle in investing, which stands for Small in size, Medium in experience, Large in ambition, and Extra-large in market potential. He emphasises the importance of finding companies with competent management, honest leadership, and promising products that are expected to outperform their competitors and the broader economy. He advises investing in these companies for a period of 10 to 15 years, a strategy he has successfully followed.


Kedia has lived by this philosophy and has amassed a fortune for himself. He has demonstrated that it is indeed possible to accumulate wealth in the stock market without resorting to Futures and Options trading. According to the latest data from Ticker, Vijay Kedia currently owns 15 publicly traded stocks. His net worth is estimated to exceed Rs 1500 crore.

Comments

bottom of page