Idol Politics

As Mumbai begins earnest preparations for its most iconic festival, Ganesh Chaturthi, politics is once again knocking at the deity’s door. The BJP-led Mahayuti government, with Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar as its emissary, has made a calculated intervention into the debate over the use of Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols. The policy shift is less about pollution and more about positioning. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, long overdue, loom large over every move by the ruling coalition.

Shelar announced that the government would soon formulate a policy to facilitate the immersion of large Ganesh idols, including those made of PoP, while ensuring environmental safeguards. He also claimed that making, selling, or immersing PoP idols was not illegal despite the Central Pollution Control Board’s guidelines discouraging their use and immersion owing to ecological damage to water bodies. But in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, few things are as politically potent as Ganeshotsav. And fewer still are as entwined with votes.

This is a deft political calculation. The BJP, in alliance with Eknath Shinde’s breakaway Shiv Sena faction, has long been eyeing a takeover of the BMC — India’s richest municipal corporation — from the clutches of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). Ganesh mandals have long been the nerve centres of Shiv Sena power. During the ten days of celebration, these local committees control everything from sound permissions to civic coordination, becoming miniature fiefdoms in their neighbourhoods. Over decades, the Sena built a grassroots network through these festivals by mixing religiosity with local clout.

By voicing support for traditional idol makers and pushing back against CPCB restrictions, the government is appealing to artisan communities and mandals, especially in Mumbai and Pune. The obvious subtext is that BJP is the patron of Hindu tradition. And unlike the Sena factions locked in internecine squabbles, it offers clarity along with subsidies.

Environmentalists will doubtless worry about PoP idols polluting water bodies and harming marine life. While clay idols and artificial tanks exist, they haven’t caught on for large-scale use. The government promises a balance between tradition with eco-safeguards, though just how it plays out in practice is unclear.

But the move will be welcomed by more than just political operatives and idol-makers. The Hindu community, long weary of what they see as overregulation of their festivals, will likely perceive this as overdue course correction. In recent years, environmental rules, court interventions and municipal red tape have disproportionately affected Hindu processions and public celebrations — whether Holi bonfires, Dussehra effigies or Diwali firecrackers. Meanwhile, festivals of other faiths often proceed with minimal interference, fuelling a perception, rightly or wrongly, that Hindu practices are held to a more exacting standard.

It is in this context that Shelar’s remarks strike a resonant chord. His message that faith and tradition will not be sacrificed at the altar of bureaucratic overreach is more than merely administrative. It is almost like a cultural counterpunch. For many in the Hindu community, the move signals that their beliefs are not second-tier.