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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.

Decibel Discipline

Updated: Jan 27, 2025

The Bombay High Court’s recent ruling on the use of loudspeakers at places of worship is a long-overdue intervention against unchecked noise pollution. By affirming that the use of loudspeakers is not an essential religious practice protected under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, the court has struck a judicious balance between religious freedoms and public health. While the judgment is a welcome step, it highlights the rampant disregard for noise pollution norms in Mumbai, Pune and other urban centers.


Noise pollution in India’s bustling cities has long been an unacknowledged crisis. The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, mandate strict decibel limits in residential areas—55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night. Yet, as the court observed, compliance is sporadic at best. In the case at hand, decibel levels near two mosques in Kurla and Chunabhatti exceeded 80 decibels, almost double the permissible limit. This is not an isolated incident. Across Maharashtra, religious places, construction sites and private events routinely flout noise regulations with impunity.


The High Court’s directive to the Maharashtra government to implement an in-built mechanism to control decibel levels of sound-emitting devices is a practical move. The emphasis on calibrating and auto-fixing loudspeaker decibel limits at places of worship ensures that enforcement is preventive rather than reactive. Equally commendable is the court’s insistence on the use of decibel-measuring applications by the police and the protection of complainant identities to prevent retaliation. However, enforcement remains a glaring weak spot in the system. The challenge lies not in the lack of rules but in their implementation. The enforcement often succumbs to political and religious sensitivities. Complaints of noise pollution, especially against religious establishments, are dismissed or ignored, leaving citizens to suffer in silence.


Noise pollution is a grave public health hazard in our age. As the High Court observed, no one’s rights are curtailed by limiting loudspeaker usage. On the contrary, regulating noise levels is in the broader public interest.


The court’s verdict should serve as a catalyst for systemic reform. Maharashtra must go beyond sporadic crackdowns and adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward noise pollution. This includes extending the court-mandated measures to all sources of noise, including political rallies, construction sites, and festivals, which are equally culpable. Cities like Pune and Mumbai, with their dense populations and 24/7 activity, are particularly vulnerable to the cascading effects of unchecked noise pollution. The Bombay High Court has shown the way forward with its pragmatic and balanced ruling. The court’s message is clear that lawlessness, whether cloaked in religious garb or otherwise, has no place in a democratic society.


Noise pollution, though invisible, is as damaging as air or water pollution. It is high time that Maharashtra treated it with the seriousness it deserves.

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