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.

Forced Tongues

In Maharashtra, the language of instruction has become a new battlefield. The state government’s recently announced that Hindi would be made compulsory as a third language in all state board schools from Class 1 onwards, alongside Marathi and English. The decision, made under the pretext of implementing the National Education Policy (NEP), has provoked a swift and sharp backlash not only from opposition parties but from the state’s own Language Advisory Committee as well.


The committee’s firm opinion was that the move was neither academically justified nor in tune with students’ psychology. Their letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rightly notes that introducing a compulsory third language at the primary level places undue pressure on young learners in an education system already struggling with inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages and uneven learning outcomes.


Language, in India, is always political. It evokes deep emotional bonds, regional identities, and memories of centralising policies that have often appeared, rightly or wrongly, as attempts to homogenise a dazzlingly diverse nation. Maharashtra is not Tamil Nadu, where anti-Hindi sentiment has historically galvanised entire movements. Yet, the instinct to protect Marathi - a living, evolving language with a proud literary and cultural history - is a deeply felt one. It should not be mistaken for parochialism.


Moreover, the pedagogical rationale for this move is paper-thin. The Language Committee’s suggestion to require only two languages (one being Marathi) until Class XII is sound advice, rooted in evidence and expertise. Language acquisition thrives when it is organic and interest-driven, not when it is forced from a bureaucrat’s desk.


Besides, children in Maharashtra already pick up Hindi naturally through Bollywood films, television and popular culture. Hindi and Marathi, after all, share the same Devanagari script and have numerous linguistic similarities. Forcing Hindi in such an environment is not only redundant but betrays a lack of faith in the organic flow of languages and cultures.


The NEP’s insistence on a three-language formula may have been well-meaning, but its rigid application, especially when it defaults to Hindi, threatens that balance.


Predictably, opposition parties have seized the moment with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a fractious alliance at the best of times, finding unity in opposing the government over the issue. Political opportunism is certainly at play. But it would be a mistake to dismiss the protest merely as opposition for opposition’s sake as the unease is real and widespread.


Language, after all, is an expression of identity and belonging and not just communication. When governments attempt to prescribe what tongues children must learn, they risk trampling on something far deeper than syllabus design. If Hindi is to spread in Maharashtra, let it do so naturally through choice, cultural appeal and opportunity, not by compulsion.


In a state where the love for Marathi runs as deep as the rivers that course through its land, it would be unwise to ignite resentments that could have been avoided by a lighter touch.

Comments

bottom of page