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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.

Grandiose Gambits

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

As Maharashtra gears up for its Assembly elections, a familiar ritual unfolds: grand proclamations aimed at wooing key voter blocs. The state cabinet, under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, recently made sweeping promises designed to boost its electoral fortunes. Yet, such gestures beg the perennial question: are these pre-election pledges fulfilled once the ballots are cast?


The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP-led Mahayuti government is making sweeping promises, from raising the income limit for the OBC ‘non-creamy layer’ to increasing Madrassa teachers’ salaries. The proposed income ceiling jump from Rs. 8 lakh to Rs.15 lakh would extend reservation benefits to more OBC families. While it seems like a step towards uplifting weaker sections, implementing this solely for Maharashtra without similar changes in other states raises questions about its financial feasibility.


Beyond the OBC vote bank, the government has also turned its attention to the minority community, particularly Madrassa teachers. Their salaries were significantly raised, accompanied by an emphasis on the modernization of religious schools. While integrating modern education into Madrassas through the Dr. Zakir Hussain Madarsa Modernisation Scheme may be an admirable goal, the timing is telling. The cabinet also bolstered investment for the Maulana Azad Minority Financial Development Corporation. Additionally, welfare co-operative boards were announced for several other communities, with capital investments of Rs. 50 crore each. Given that the minorities voted against the Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha election, such initiatives are part of a broader strategy to court them.


Then, there is the draft ordinance to grant constitutional status to the Maharashtra State Scheduled Caste Commission. While this may appear as a genuine step toward safeguarding the interests of Scheduled Caste communities, one must ask why such measures surface only in the months leading up to elections.

Maharashtra’s electoral history is replete with examples of grand pre-election proclamations that either fell short of implementation, or were not implemented as swiftly as promised.


At the time of the 2004 Assembly election, the Congress-NCP alliance, led by Sushilkumar Shinde, promised sweeping loan waivers to address rural distress. Ahead of the 2019 election, the BJP-Sena government expanded the Shiv Bhojan Thali, a subsidized meal program for the poor. While initially implemented, its reach was criticized due to inadequate infrastructure and inconsistent supply.


These examples underscore that big announcements are part of a well-worn electoral strategy, a pattern where parties make bold pledges to key voting blocs just before the elections, only to let those promises languish in bureaucratic limbo or become diluted after power is secured. Will this time be any different?

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