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By:

Rajendra Pandharpure

15 April 2025 at 7:55:54 pm

The BJP’s Ganesha Gambit

Pune’s Ganeshotsav has become an enormous civic and political stage, and the ruling party has proved adept at occupying it. Pune: The city’s Ganeshotsav is entering its final phase, but the festival has already demonstrated something beyond its extraordinary crowds and familiar spectacle: the extent to which it has become a political stage. This year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has left a particularly visible imprint on the festivities, using an event that reaches deep into the city’s...

The BJP’s Ganesha Gambit

Pune’s Ganeshotsav has become an enormous civic and political stage, and the ruling party has proved adept at occupying it. Pune: The city’s Ganeshotsav is entering its final phase, but the festival has already demonstrated something beyond its extraordinary crowds and familiar spectacle: the extent to which it has become a political stage. This year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has left a particularly visible imprint on the festivities, using an event that reaches deep into the city’s neighbourhoods as an opportunity for public outreach. The political appropriation of the festival has not, however, been without a counter-current. Demands were raised for curbs on noise pollution, loudspeakers and the volume of dhol-tasha performances. The argument was not against Ganeshotsav itself, but for moderation - notably, a complete ban on DJ music and limits on the number of dhol and tasha instruments used by performing troupes. Familiar Troubles The festival’s reality has been rather different. Major roads have been occupied by mandaps. Processions celebrating the arrival of Lord Ganesha have unfolded amid punishing noise. DJ music, while subject to restrictions, has continued. Traffic congestion has become a familiar feature of the festival, with the movement of political leaders adding another layer to the city’s already strained roads. The Peth areas have remained crowded deep into the night. The Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati temple has drawn enormous crowds for darshan from the opening day. From the old city to housing societies and neighbourhood mandals, Ganeshotsav touches virtually every part of Pune. For a political party seeking a direct connection with citizens, few occasions offer such a ready-made network of people, institutions and local influencers. The BJP enters this festival with an unusually formidable organisational base. It has two MPs, seven MLAs and more than 100 corporators in Pune. Murlidhar Mohol, one of the city’s MPs, is a Union Minister of State. Chandrakant Patil is a Cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government, while Madhuri Misal is a Minister of State. The party’s presence also extends into the festival’s organisational architecture. Its influence is visible across numerous mandals, large and small. BJP MLA Hemant Rasane is General Secretary of the Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust. Kunal Tilak, a member of Lokmanya Tilak’s family, is a BJP corporator. The political and cultural histories of Pune therefore intersect in ways that are difficult to ignore. The BJP’s senior leadership has also made the most of the occasion. National President Nitin Nabin visited Pune to seek Lord Ganesha’s blessings, while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the city before and during the festival. Such visits are about more than religious observance. In a festival watched by millions and embedded in the city’s social life, political visibility comes almost automatically. There is also talk in Pune that the BJP provided substantial financial support to Dhol-Lezim troupes and their organisers, with claims that some major mandals received financial backing as well. These claims would require independent verification, but the perception itself points to the depth of the political contest around Ganeshotsav. BJP workers, according to local observers, have also sought to make their presence more conspicuous than that of festivities organised by housing societies. Useful Expedient The festival arrives at a politically useful moment for the BJP. The party has faced disquiet on several fronts. Young people have been agitated over the paper-leak controversy. Broader public dissatisfaction has been voiced over inflation and unemployment, while government policies relating to ethanol and charges associated with UPI transactions have also generated criticism. While a political party can defend a policy in a press conference and advertise its achievements, during Ganeshotsav, its workers can be physically present in neighbourhoods, among processions, mandals, cultural groups and devotees. Politics thus becomes less about argument and more about visibility. That is the BJP’s advantage in Pune. Ganeshotsav, after all, is not simply a sequence of religious rituals. It is an elaborate civic network involving local organisers, volunteers, cultural groups, businesses, residents and political representatives. Whoever has influence over that network acquires a powerful channel of communication with the city. The BJP appears to understand this particularly well. Its strength in Pune’s electoral politics has been reinforced by a presence that extends beyond elections and into the institutions and social spaces that organise public life. The irony is that the very scale of the festival that makes it politically attractive also magnifies the civic costs. The political value of Ganeshotsav and the civic burden it creates are therefore two sides of the same phenomenon. For Pune, the larger question is not whether politics has entered Ganeshotsav. It has done so for decades. The more consequential question is whether the festival’s extraordinary social capital will remain primarily a vehicle for political outreach or whether the same influence can be used to reconcile celebration with the ordinary civic needs of the city. For the moment, the BJP seems to have understood the first proposition better than most.

Fadnavis hero of BJP's victory

Writer: Abhijit Mulye
Abhijit Mulye
Dec 22, 2025
3 min read

Mumbai: In a resounding testament to his strategic prowess, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged as the architect of the BJP’s impressive election victory in the state. The way he orchestrated the campaign, crafted his message, and selected candidates has left observers and allies alike hailing his mastery of the political landscape.


Even as the Municipal Council results unfolded, most of the political analysts were reminded of the Mahayuti’s resounding victory during the assembly elections last year. While Fadnavis played crucial role even in those elections, the credit for those results was given primarily to the then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, under whole leadership the Mahayuti had contested the election. However, Fadnavis, who took the charge of the state last year after the assembly elections, successfully demonstrated that even after a year in the saddle, he has been able to not just keep the popularity of the Mahayuti intact, but has actually increased it.


Fadnavis’ strategy was built on a delicate balance of people-centric initiatives, social pragmatism, and a keen understanding of the state’s complex political dynamics. His relentless focus on development, coupled with a sharp eye on social arithmetic, helped the BJP connect with voters across demographics.


Grassroot Workers

Yet another decisive factor that worked in favour of Fadnavis was the positive reinforcement that he provided to the grassroot workers of the BJP in particular and Mahayuti constituents in general. These elections of Nagar Palika and Nagar Panchayats are considered to be the elections driven entirely by the grassroot political workers. Through is tiring campaign trail Fadnavis assured these grassroot workers that he would stand by their side and for them in their testing times. “Grassroot workers are the real nerves for any political party. Fadnavis not just reached out to people for them, but also presented the grand vision of developemnt for their respective areas, making the victory easy for them.


When juxtaposed with leaders like Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, who didn’t even address a single rally for these elections, the importance of Fadnavis’ efforts from the point of view of grassroot workers emerges taller,” said one of the senior officials of CMO, while highlighting the difference between Fadnavis and the opposition leaders, who, in his opinion left the grassroot workers of their respective parties alone to fight for themselves.


Stark Contrast

State BJP president Ravindra Chavan highlighted the stark contrast between Fadnavis and his opponents. Fadnavis, who addressed over 50 large rallies to campaign for these elections, never criticized any of the opposition leaders. His single minded focus was on the development agenda that he has set for the state and explaining to people as to how he has been advancing it. He reached out to people over phone and through the internet to places where it was impossible for him to reach due to time constraints. Even in those short interactions he could convince the people that he is well aware of their issues and aspirations and he also assured them of solutions to their problems. On the contrary the opposition leaders tried to spread a false narrative against him.


Social Fabric

Apart from Fadnavis’ ability to strike a chord with the masses through his rallies, Fadnavis also demonstrated his grasp of the state’s social fabric by ensuring representation to various communities in the candidate selection process. The BJP’s list of candidates was a testament to his ability to balance competing interests and create a diverse yet cohesive team.


Fadnavis’ leadership style, often described as decisive and inclusive, has earned him recognition as one of the BJP’s most effective leaders in the state. His ability to navigate complex political situations, including the split in the Shiv Sena and the alliance with Eknath Shinde, showcased his strategic acumen.


As the BJP’s star campaigner, Fadnavis cramped the opposition’s style by projecting himself as a leader above narrow politics. His emphasis on good governance, transparency, and accountability resonated with urban voters, who are increasingly looking for leaders who can deliver results.


The results are a testament to Fadnavis’ ability to connect with the people and his party’s commitment to serving them. As he looks to the future, the onus is on him to deliver on his promises and take Maharashtra to new heights.

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