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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 4:59:11 pm

Fadnavis reins in Sena’s Marathi push

AI generated image Mumbai: The ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra is witnessing a delicate political balancing act, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis increasingly overriding key decisions of alliance partners, particularly the Shiv Sena, while simultaneously attempting to placate them on other fronts. The tension within the alliance came to the fore on Thursday when Fadnavis stepped in to dilute a controversial mandate enforced by Shiv Sena Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, which...

Fadnavis reins in Sena’s Marathi push

AI generated image Mumbai: The ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra is witnessing a delicate political balancing act, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis increasingly overriding key decisions of alliance partners, particularly the Shiv Sena, while simultaneously attempting to placate them on other fronts. The tension within the alliance came to the fore on Thursday when Fadnavis stepped in to dilute a controversial mandate enforced by Shiv Sena Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, which required auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in Mumbai to possess basic Marathi language proficiency. The Transport Department’s enforcement drive, which threatened non-Marathi-speaking drivers with suspension or cancellation of their licences, sparked outrage among North Indian drivers who form a sizeable section of the public transport workforce in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Protests brought parts of Mumbai, including Kandivali and Malad, to a standstill. Recognising the potential electoral fallout, Fadnavis intervened, saying drivers need not be “experts” in Marathi. He also extended the grace period for drivers to acquire a working knowledge of the language to one year, effectively diluting Sarnaik’s hardline stance. Fadnavis announced the decision after a delegation of transport operators met him. The episode highlights the conflicting political compulsions of the Mahayuti partners. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is keen to pursue a pro-Marathi, “sons of the soil” agenda to consolidate its traditional voter base and counter the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) faction led by Uddhav Thackeray. The BJP, however, relies heavily on North Indian and migrant voters in the MMR, particularly as crucial civic and state elections approach. Any aggressive regional policy that alienates this constituency could have electoral consequences for the party. The Marathi language issue is not an isolated instance of Fadnavis stepping in to override decisions associated with the Shiv Sena. It fits into a broader pattern of the chief minister’s administration reviewing or reversing several initiatives of the previous government headed by Shinde. In April 2026, the BJP-led Environment Department, headed by Minister Pankaja Munde, scrapped 14 lake conservation projects, 11 of which had been cleared during Shinde’s tenure, and ordered recovery of more than Rs 73 crore. The Fadnavis government has also modified several initiatives introduced by the previous regime. In January 2025, it altered Shinde’s three-course school meal plan, placing the responsibility on local school management committees to raise funds for sweet dishes. In April 2025, the government scrapped the ‘One State, One Uniform’ policy for schools. A Rs 3,200-crore tender for mechanised housekeeping services at government hospitals, issued under the Shinde government, was also stayed. Yet, Fadnavis remains conscious of the need to preserve the fragile alliance. To manage growing resentment within the Sena, he has adopted what can be described as a ‘blow hot, blow cold’ approach — overriding decisions when they clash with the BJP’s broader political interests while offering political concessions on other fronts. One such move was the recent appointment of Shiv Sena leader Bharat Gogawale as Guardian Minister of the politically important Raigad district, ending a 19-month-long tussle over the post. At the same time, the Mahayuti government recently reduced the powers exercised by Guardian Ministers over District Planning Committee (DPC) funds, directing that 70 per cent of the funds be allocated directly to local MLAs. The move is aimed at reducing the concentration of financial powers with individual ministers. As the Mahayuti navigates these competing interests, Fadnavis has also instructed alliance partners to resolve disputes internally and avoid public sparring. However, the latest confrontation over the Marathi language requirement underscores the limits of that arrangement. While Fadnavis continues to use his authority to protect the BJP’s broader electoral interests, the Shiv Sena remains under pressure to assert its regional identity and distinguish itself from the Thackeray faction. With elections approaching, balancing these competing political priorities is likely to remain one of the biggest challenges for the Mahayuti government.

Milk price hike set to squeeze festive budgets 

Mumbai: With festival seasons looming ahead, the Mumbai Milk Producers Association (MMPA) announced a whopping hike of Rs 9-per litre in the wholesale price of fresh buffalo milk for Mumbai from Sep. 01, a top official said.

 

MMPA Chairman C. K. Singh said the bulk price of fresh buffalo milk - which is sold by over 3,000 retailers in the country’s commercial capital - will go up from Rs 93-per litre  to Rs 102-per litre. It will be in force for six months till Feb. 28, 2027, after which it will be reviewed.

 

The unanimous decision was taken at the MMPA’s bi-annual general body meeting held on Tuesday, said its General Secretary Kasham Kashmere. This time the meet was a tumultuous affair with strong emotions between the proponents and opponents of the rate hike.

 

The current price hike is the steepest in the history of the 70-year-old MMPA, and comes six months after the last hike from Rs. 91-per litre to Rs 93-per litre in Feb. this year, Singh added.

 

The latest hike is expected to trigger a huge increase in the prices of all other types of buffalo milk and dairy products during the oncoming big festivals of Ganeshotsav, Navratri, Diwali, Christmas and Ramadan falling during the six-month period. It will particularly deal a huge blow to the popular winter wedding season starting in September.

  

“With the wholesale price hike by Rs 9-per litre from Sep. 1, the retail rates may shoot up to Rs. 115-125-per litre or more, depending on the localities served and the local demand,” Singh told The Perfect Voice.

 

The latest price hike will adversely impact the demand for milk which usually shoots up by 35-40 pc during the festive and marriage seasons when large quantities of sweetmeats are prepared at homes, marquees and even commercially, particularly milk-based drinks or chilled or frozen desserts.

 

Claiming “no options” but to hike the rates, the MMPA members justified that the prices of milch animals (buffaloes) has zoomed by 60pc-70pc while their food items like dana, tuvar, chuni, chana-chuni, etc., have shot up by an average of 25 pc, besides a steep upward trend in the rates of grass, hay, pinda, etc.

 

According to Singh, Mumbai consumes over 50 lakh litres of buffalo milk daily, of which more than 700,000 litres of fresh milk are supplied by the MMPA alone through its chain of dairies, neighbourhood retailers, and farms spread in and around the city.

 

As in the past, the skyrocketing rates of fresh buffalo milk is usually accompanied by similar hikes in the prices by major private or government dairies, ostensibly to offset rising costs of procurement and availability of green fodder.

 

With the upcoming wholesale price hike of fresh buffalo milk by the MMPA, cow milk producers and branded dairy products manufacturers may follow suit, putting further strain on domestic budgets – already suffering under the massive inflationary trends in recent months.

   

Tukaram Munde ‘effect’
A MMPA office-bearer revealed how FDA Commissioner Tukaram Munde’s ongoing crusade against food adulteration, including milk is having the desired impact. “Earlier, chilled buffalo milk was mostly of dubious quality. It has now disappeared from the markets. Munde Sir has restored the respectability accorded to the rich and fresh buffalo milk,” he said, requesting anonymity.

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