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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.

Less Water Leads to Anger

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

Anger

First the deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and after him actor Aamir Khan vowed for drought free Maharashtra. “Our mission is to create a drought-free and prosperous Maharashtra, by fostering social unity and providing scale to proven solutions and technologies,” this pledge unfortunately went in vain. Many tehsils in Vidarbha and Marathwada are reeling under drought like situation that too in November.


In April 2016, Maharashtra operated the water train to supply drinking water to drought-affected Latur. In the same year, the state government embarked on its Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan to become drought free by 2019. Despite the ambitious plan, 40 percent of the state is reeling from drought and its water tanker economy is booming. All the schemes were aimed at making Maharashtra a drought-free state by deepening and widening streams as well as constructing cement and earthen stop dams, nullahs and digging farm ponds. But, as of February 2019, the state government declared drought in 151 of the 358 talukas. In these talukas, 28,524 villages have been declared drought-affected. Of this, 112 are severely drought hit. Opposition members and activists targeted the government for the situation. However, the ruling party and the government officials defended their work, claiming that the year prior rainfall was extremely low.


Nevertheless, Devendra Fadnavis ordered a survey on the linking of rivers in the Krishna and Bhima sub-basins. This project aims to divert the excess water from the flood-prone rivers of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara districts to the drought-prone regions of Marathwada, Solapur and Pune. This idea has not gone down well among the experts. They have questioned this kind of statistical or mathematical hydrology that calculates surplus and deficit basins on two grounds. They straightaway pointed out that environmental hydrology is more relevant in the age of climate change, which says there is nothing like surplus and deficit basins and natural course of rivers should not be meddled with. Secondly, experts have also argued that these water calculations are often dated and proven to be unreliable.


As no water to the tap and even wells run dry people start to extract groundwater, perpetuating water scarcity. As there is no option left before the people, they start extracting groundwater even if the dry spell extends for 10 days.


The BJP-led government came to power in Maharashtra in October 2014 riding on the back of a multi-crore irrigation scam. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had then not just promised the state that those found guilty in the scam would be punished but also that the state would turn away from non-performing large dams and lift irrigation schemes to more smaller water conservation projects. Five years later neither of these promises seem to have held any good. The inquiries by the Anti Corruption Bureau have netted some officials and a couple of contractors, the main accused in the scam is still at large.

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