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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.

Arvind Kejriwal: Political Firestarter

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Arvind Kejriwal: Political Firestarter

Few Indian politicians embody the contradictions of modern politics like Arvind Kejriwal. The former bureaucrat-turned-anti-corruption crusader, who once inspired legions with his slogan of clean governance, now finds himself locked in a complex battle over his own integrity.

On Friday, Kejriwal emerged from Tihar Jail to a hero’s welcome from supporters of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Released on bail by India’s Supreme Court, the Delhi Chief Minister wasted no time in portraying his incarceration as a moral victory and, in a thinly-veiled rebuke at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claimed he had been targeted not for corruption but for daring to fight “anti-national forces” allegedly weakening India.His release has ignited a wave of celebration within AAP ranks, as though a political victory has been secured ahead of the upcoming Delhi assembly election. But such celebrations may be premature.

Kejriwal’s legal troubles stem from the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, an ambitious attempt to reform the city’s alcohol sales framework. The policy’s alleged flaws gave rise to corruption charges involving the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), resulting in his earlier this year. The agencies accuse him of graft and money laundering, charges he denies vehemently. Yet, despite being granted interim bail in the ED’s money laundering case in July, Kejriwal’s release was delayed due to his subsequent arrest by the CBI. The spectacle of his staggered detentions has led many to view his predicament through a political lens, with Kejriwal depicting himself as a victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by the central government by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In an unusually pointed observation, Justice Bhuyan of the Supreme Court questioned the timing of Kejriwal’s arrest - 22 months after the first information report (FIR) was registered - while criticizing the CBI’s handling of the case, reminding the agency of its duty to act with integrity and fairness and not to function as a “caged parrot” speaking in its master’s voice.

And yet, Kejriwal’s release on bail is far from an exoneration. The legal proceedings against him are expected to drag on. As the BJP was quick to point out, Kejriwal’s bail is a civil right, not an acquittal. The trial will soon commence, and the AAP leader still faces a long legal battle ahead.

Kejriwal’s arrest has come at a politically sensitive time. Delhi is set to hold its Assembly elections in early 2025, and the BJP is already recalibrating its strategy. For months, the BJP has portrayed AAP as a “den of corrupt leaders,” highlighting the arrests of Kejriwal’s close associates, including former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendra Jain, on similar corruption charges. With Kejriwal and his associates now out on bail, the BJP will likely shift its narrative to focus on the alleged “constitutional crisis” in the capital.

From his early days as an anti-corruption activist, Kejriwal has cultivated an image of himself as a man willing to challenge entrenched interests. His tenure as Delhi’s CM has often been marked by conflict with the central government over the city-state’s limited powers, a struggle that resonates with voters who view him as a voice for local governance.

His political rise has always been unconventional, marked by his ability to turn crises into opportunities. Whether it was his brief resignation (for 49 days) in 2014 or his frequent clashes with the central government, Kejriwal has consistently positioned himself as an outsider, fighting the political establishment on behalf of ordinary citizens. This narrative of victimhood has resonated with his supporters, allowing him to weather scandals that might sink other politicians.

His administration has been lauded for populist policies like free electricity, water, and healthcare, which have won him strong support among Delhi’s lower-middle class.

But Kejriwal’s political journey has not been without contradictions: he has adopted pragmatic strategies to stay politically relevant, sometimes allying with figures he once opposed.

His immediate challenge is to navigate the legal labyrinth ahead, even as he prepares for the forthcoming elections.

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