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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.

Pioneer of education leaves behind a lasting legacy

Writer: Rajendra Joshi
Rajendra Joshi
Aug 4
3 min read

Kolhapur: Padma Shri awardee, eminent educationist, former Governor and renowned philanthropist Dr Dnyandeo Yashwantrao (D Y) Patil passed away at his residence in Kasaba Bawada, Kolhapur, on Tuesday morning following age-related ailments. He was 91.


With his demise, the country has lost one of the foremost architects of modern private education and healthcare, whose institutions transformed the lives of lakhs of students and patients across India.


Born into a humble farming family, Dr Patil believed education was the most powerful instrument of social transformation. Guided by this vision, he established a vast network of educational institutions across Maharashtra and other parts of the country, making professional education in medicine, engineering, dentistry, nursing, management, agriculture and allied disciplines accessible to generations of students.


Political career

Dr Patil entered public life in 1957 after being elected to the Kolhapur Municipal Council. He later represented the Panhala Assembly constituency twice in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Known for his development-oriented and consensus-driven approach, he earned recognition far beyond state politics.


In 2009, he was appointed Governor of Tripura. He subsequently served as the Governor of Bihar and, in 2014, also held additional charge as the Governor of West Bengal.


Transforming Education

Dr Patil's contribution to higher education remains unparalleled. He established universities, medical colleges, engineering, pharmacy, agriculture, nursing and management institutions, besides schools, at Kolhapur, Pune, Navi Mumbai, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Belagavi and several other centres.


Today, lakhs of graduates from institutions founded by him are serving in India and abroad across diverse professions.


Alongside educational institutions, Dr Patil developed state-of-the-art multi-speciality hospitals that significantly expanded access to quality healthcare in both urban and rural areas. By integrating medical education, clinical services and research, he created institutions that have become benchmarks in healthcare delivery.


Social Service

A committed philanthropist, Dr Patil worked tirelessly to expand educational opportunities for underprivileged students, strengthen rural healthcare and support numerous social initiatives. He was also a strong patron of sports and was instrumental in creating world-class sporting infrastructure, reflecting his belief in the holistic development of young people.


In recognition of his outstanding contribution to education and social service, the Government of India conferred the Padma Shri on Dr Patil. He was also the recipient of several honorary doctorates and lifetime achievement awards from universities and institutions in India and abroad.


Large Family

Dr Patil is survived by his wife; former Minister of State (Home) and Congress MLA Satej (Bunty) Patil; Chancellor of D Y Patil University, Kolhapur, Sanjay D Patil; Chancellor of D Y Patil University, Navi Mumbai, Ajinkya D Patil; daughter-in-law Pallavi D Patil; grandchildren and an extended family.


His family continues to carry forward his vision through the D Y Patil group's network of educational, medical and research institutions spread across the country.


Leaders cutting across party lines, educationists, industrialists, former students and people from all walks of life have expressed grief over his demise, describing him as a visionary who redefined higher education and healthcare in India.


The last rites of Dr D Y Patil will be performed with full state honours on Wednesday, at the D Y Patil Educational Campus, Kasaba Bawada, Kolhapur. His mortal remains will be kept at the campus from Wednesday morning to enable the public to pay their last respects. A large number of political leaders, dignitaries, educationists, former students, teachers and citizens are expected to attend the funeral.


‘Cash King’ of yore

By Quaid Najmi

Mumbai: Around 1993, when the new Oberoi Hotel at Nariman Point was still a novelty and credit cards yet to gain currency, the legendary but somewhat rustic education baron Dr. Dynandeo Yashwantrao Patil, had invited a young journalist for an audience there.


After a sumptuous cocktail-lunch and a generous three-hour long, no-holds-barred interview, the immaculate kurta-pyjama clad leader snapped his fingers and called for the bill, possibly running into a few thousand rupees.


The discreet waitperson brought it and politely asked, “Card, Sir?” but Patil did not look up and shook his head. Instead, he moved a little in his cushioned chair, dug into his ‘deep’ pockets and fished out a thick wad of at least five crisp bundles of Rs. 500, much to the shock of the hotel staff and the wide-eyed journo.


Patil again glanced at the invoice, and without batting an eyelid, casually and stylishly flicked out the required number of notes before quietly slipping the bankroll into his pocket mini-treasury.


Later, some senior colleagues enlightened the astounded journalist that “Patil Sa’b always carries a lot of cash, like a King!” A situation like this would be unimaginable in the modern times – what with a horde of state or central agencies keeping tabs on such prosperous political bigwigs, virtually 24x7x365…!

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