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By:

Rajendra Pandharpure

15 April 2025 at 7:55:54 pm

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...

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 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.

Ignored Before Consideration

Writer: Divyaa Advaani 
Divyaa Advaani 
Apr 17
3 min read

For decades, businesses built across generations relied on a quiet but powerful advantage. Their reputation was earned over time, relationships were nurtured personally, and trust was reinforced through consistent experience. In industries such as jewellery, where legacy often defines credibility, this model created stability that was difficult to disrupt.


Today, that stability is being tested in ways that are not always immediately visible.


In a recent conversation with a third-generation business owner, this shift became strikingly clear. Despite having a well-established enterprise and years of experience behind him, he spoke about a growing challenge. Customers were increasingly drawn towards brands they already recognised, including newer entrants who had managed to build strong visibility within a short span of time.


What stood out was not just the competition, but the clarity of customer behaviour. Many, particularly younger buyers, were arriving with fixed preferences. They knew what they wanted, often before stepping into the store. In several instances, they were unwilling to explore alternatives, regardless of the quality or range available.


At one level, this reflects a more informed consumer. At another, it reveals something deeper. Decisions are no longer being made at the point of sale. They are being made much earlier, often before the business has an opportunity to present itself. This is where a subtle but critical gap begins to emerge.


Many established businesses continue to operate with strong fundamentals. They have experience, operational depth, and proven credibility. Yet, despite these strengths, they are increasingly finding themselves overlooked in favour of those who have mastered visibility. It is not that they lack value. It is that their value is not being seen early enough.


This distinction is becoming more significant with time. In today’s environment, customers do not simply choose the best option available. They choose the option they recognise, recall, and feel familiar with. Familiarity, in many cases, is established long before any direct interaction takes place.


For business owners who have built their companies over years of effort, this presents an uncomfortable but necessary question. Is your business being evaluated… or are you being filtered out before evaluation even begins?


The difference lies in perception.


A personal brand, in this context, is not an exercise in self-promotion. It is a mechanism through which your experience, expertise, and journey become visible to those who would otherwise never encounter it. It ensures that when a decision is being formed, you are already part of that consideration set. Without it, even well-established businesses may find themselves relying on chance encounters rather than intentional recall.


What makes this particularly challenging is that the absence of visibility does not feel like a problem initially. Operations continue, revenue may remain stable, and existing relationships provide a sense of continuity. However, over time, a pattern begins to emerge. New customer acquisition slows, brand preference shifts elsewhere, and opportunities that could have been yours never reach you.


This is not a failure of capability. It is a limitation of perception.


The most forward-thinking entrepreneurs are recognising this early. They are not replacing their legacy; they are amplifying it. By making themselves visible, by sharing their perspective, and by allowing their journey to be seen, they are bridging the gap between what they have built and how it is experienced by the market. In doing so, they move from being one of many options to becoming a preferred choice.


For founders and professionals who sense that their business has more to offer than what is currently being perceived, this becomes an important point of reflection. Not as a reaction to competition, but as a proactive step towards relevance. I engage in a limited number of focused conversations with individuals who are looking to strengthen this aspect of their presence and translate it into tangible business outcomes. Those who find this shift relevant may explore this further here: https://sprect.com/pro/divyaaadvaani In a marketplace where decisions are increasingly made before conversations begin, it is not only what you build that matters, but whether you are considered at all.


(The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries.

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