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...

min read

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.

Four Steps to Financial Success

Kaustubh Kale

Jul 19, 2025

2 min read

Achieving financial success may seem like a complicated journey, but it does not have to be. While there are countless products available, the truth is that just four simple, disciplined steps can set you on the right track. Whether you are planning for your future, protecting your family, or building wealth, here is a practical 4-point checklist to help you reach your financial goals.

1. Short-Term Investments: Stay Liquid and Safe

The first step in your plan is to secure your short-term needs. This includes your emergency fund and any expenses planned within the next three years. Here, the focus should be on safety and liquidity, not high returns.

Options like bank fixed deposits (FDs), recurring deposits (RDs), or debt mutual funds are ideal for such goals. They offer stable, predictable returns and allow you to access your money whenever required.

2. Long-Term Investments: Beat Inflation and Grow Your Wealth

To beat inflation and build a sizeable corpus for retirement, children’s education or marriage, or buying a home, you need growth-oriented investments.

Invest regularly in equity mutual funds, direct stocks (if you have the expertise), and gold for diversification. Equities tend to deliver better returns over long periods, while gold acts as a hedge during uncertain times. The simplest way to get started is through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) in mutual funds or stocks. Do sufficient SIPs, increase your SIPs every year as income increases, do lumpsum investments besides SIPs frequently, and stay invested. Let compounding work its magic.

3. Health Insurance: Protect Your Savings

Rising healthcare costs make it critical to have adequate health insurance for yourself and your family. This ensures you do not have to dip into your investments during a medical emergency.

Even if your employer offers a policy, treat it as an added benefit and still buy a personal plan with sufficient coverage. Ensure that the plan is comprehensive and includes all necessary product features. The sum insured should be adequate for your lifetime, keeping in mind medical inflation and the rising cost of healthcare. It is important to choose a high enough cover to handle serious illnesses or hospitalisations.

4. Life Insurance: Secure Your Family’s Future

If you have children or outstanding loans, a term life insurance policy is a must-have. It is the most affordable way to ensure your family’s financial security in case of your untimely demise.

Calculate the cover based on your liabilities and the future needs of your dependents, and review it as your responsibilities grow.

To Conclude:

By following these four steps with discipline and focus, you can build a secure financial foundation and move confidently toward your goals. Remember: the journey to financial success begins with one simple step - and today is the best day to take it.

(The author is a Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial Advisor.

Views personal. He could be reached on 9833133605.)