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...

min read

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.

More Than Assistance, A Movement of Compassion

Rameshwar Naik

May 22

3 min read

Health is the greatest wealth. But when a serious illness strikes a family, it does not just affect the patient physically; it often pushes the entire family into financial distress. In such difficult moments, when all doors seem closed, the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund has emerged as a ray of hope for lakhs of families across Maharashtra. Today, it is no longer merely a government mechanism but a true people’s movement built on sensitive leadership and public participation.

A major credit for this transformation goes to the visionary leadership of the Maharashtra Chief Minister, whose compassionate approach and emphasis on administrative efficiency have reshaped the functioning of the fund. His clear resolve has been that no needy patient in the state should be deprived of treatment due to lack of money.

Earlier, availing assistance through this fund was a complicated and time-consuming process. Patients or their relatives had to travel to Mumbai, complete extensive paperwork, and wait for long periods for approval. In many cases, treatment itself would get delayed because of these procedural hurdles.

However, the system has now undergone a complete transformation. With the use of digital technology, the application process has been made fully online, and assistance cells have been established at the district level. Patients no longer need to make repeated trips to Mumbai. Hospitals can now directly submit applications online; documents are verified digitally, and approvals are granted within hours. The approved amount is transferred directly to the hospital’s account. This transparent and efficient process has removed the uncertainty that once surrounded financial assistance.

One of the biggest milestones in strengthening the scheme has been the integration of various healthcare initiatives. The coordination between the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund through the “Health War Room” concept has helped ensure that the right beneficiary receives the right support while preventing duplication and misuse of funds.

At the same time, the 24x7 toll-free helpline 1800-123-2211 and the ‘Rugna Mitra’ service are providing round-the-clock support to patients. With just one phone call, patients receive digital links that help them access information about nearby hospitals, blood banks, and ambulance services. The confusion caused by a lack of information has now largely become a thing of the past.

The scheme truly became a people’s initiative when society itself began actively participating in it. One inspiring example is that of an 82-year-old man from Nerul, who donated his life’s savings to the fund. Such gestures reflect the growing public trust and emotional connection people have developed with this initiative. Citizens from different walks of life are now voluntarily contributing towards the cause.

With the philosophy that “services should reach patients instead of patients chasing services", chief minister health camps are being organised across rural and remote regions, proving to be a major support system for citizens in underserved areas. In addition, an innovative tripartite partnership between the government, corporate organisations, and hospitals is helping reduce the financial burden of expensive medical treatments on patients.

The impact of these efforts is clearly visible in the numbers as well. Between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, medical assistance worth Rs 333,06,81,500 was provided to 40,776 patients across Maharashtra. This support covered treatment for serious illnesses such as neurological disorders, cancer, and heart disease. Beyond financial aid, these interventions have helped save countless lives. Paperless processes, real-time monitoring, and direct bank transfers have significantly strengthened public trust in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Under the leadership of this initiative, it has today evolved into a powerful movement driven by humanity and compassion, a strong pillar of support for every needy citizen in Maharashtra.

(The writer is the head of Chief Minister Health Care Fund. Views personal.)

The BJP’s Ganesha Gambit

More Than Assistance, A Movement of Compassion

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