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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.

Idol Uproar

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

The removal of Sai Baba idols from temples in Varanasi city has ignited a fresh wave of religious contention in India. Saffron groups and senior Hindu seers, led by the Sanatan Rakshak Dal (SRD) and the Brahmin Sabha, have successfully campaigned for the removal of Sai Baba idols from over ten temples in this revered Hindu pilgrimage city. They argue that Sai Baba’s worship deviates from traditional Hindu doctrine and that he should not be included in the pantheon of Hindu gods.

The SRD and Hindu leaders in Varanasi clarify they are not against Sai Baba but oppose his idols in temples due to his absence from ancient scriptures. While they present this as a matter of doctrinal purity, critics view it otherwise. But this is no simple doctrinal dispute. The controversy highlights a fundamental tension between religious orthodoxy and eclectic devotional practices that often flourish in India’s diverse spiritual landscape, between North Indian orthodoxy and Maharashtra’s syncretic traditions. Sai Baba’s home is not in North India but in Shirdi, Maharashtra, where he has been venerated for over a century. To the millions of his followers, Sai Baba is a saint and a divine incarnation. Yet in Varanasi, India’s religious heartland, he is an ‘outsider.’

The SRD’s argument, which echoes a broader orthodox Hindu belief, is that only traditional deities such as Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, and Shakti can be enshrined in temples. Sai Baba, who lived as a fakir, cannot be considered a Hindu god.

The historical ambiguity of Sai Baba’s identity is at the core of this debate. Sai Baba’s origins remain shrouded in mystery. Arriving in Shirdi as a young man, he became a spiritual guide whose teachings transcended religious divisions. Is Sai Baba Hindu or Muslim? He lived in a mosque, dressed as a Muslim, and spoke of Allah. Yet his message resonated with Hindus, and he permitted rituals from both religions, referring to Hindu deities as often as Islamic teachings.

For his devotees, these distinctions are irrelevant; he is simply God. But traditionalists insist that no mortal man, even one as venerated as Sai Baba, should be deified in Hindu temples. The SRD’s campaign has resonated among traditionalists in Varanasi, but in Maharashtra, the move has struck a nerve. Sai Baba is a central figure in the state’s spiritual life, his shrine in Shirdi attracting millions of pilgrims each year. The controversy has been rapidly politicized. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh’s Samajwadi Party has labeled the removal of Sai Baba idols a BJP ‘stunt’ aimed at creating division for political advantage. The BJP’s emphasis on Hindutva may alienate voters in Maharashtra, where Sai Baba is widely revered.

Critics see the removal of Sai Baba’s statues as a push towards religious exclusivity in a country celebrated for its diverse beliefs. The uproar raises questions on what it means to be Hindu in modern India and whether saints like Sai Baba, who defy categorization, still have a place - an answer that seems to vary by region.

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