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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.

Remarkable Reinvention

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Few politicians in India have faced the kind of scepticism that Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has encountered. Once an autorickshaw driver, his hardscrabble life earned him no special favours in the power corridors of the Shiv Sena, where he toiled for decades as a foot soldier. Yet, despite the odds, Shinde has managed to reinvent himself, transforming from a regional leader into the chief of India’s richest state - a feat remarkable for its sheer implausibility.

When Shinde orchestrated a political coup in 2022, vertically splitting the Shiv Sena founded by Bal Thackeray and toppling the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray to form an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), political pundits were quick to write him off. He was, and continues to be, labelled as a ‘puppet’ of the BJP.

Political Cassandras assumed he would soon be overshadowed by the towering presence of Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP’s ambitious former chief minister and that his Shiv Sena would be routed in the Lok Sabha election this year. Yet, for a leader dismissed as an interloper, Shinde not only held his own but, against expectations, his Sena performed creditably in recent political contests, outdoing even the BJP’s strike rate in the results.

From his birth in humble surroundings in Satara, Shinde entered politics through grassroots activism, rising through the ranks of the Shiv Sena in Thane. His journey from the street to the top echelons of power, mentored by firebrand late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe, has hinged on his populism and as a figure who embodies the aspirations of the common man.

Despite the onslaught from the opposition MVA and Uddhav Thackeray, who tried to paint him as a traitor to the Shiv Sena’s original ethos soon after his revolt, Shinde has successfully rebranded himself as the protector of Sena’s working-class voter base.

The recent launch of a biography highlighting Shinde’s hard-fought journey, along with the release of ‘Dharmaveer 2,’ a film about his mentor Anand Dighe and now the anticipated release of a stage play on Shinde, is part of this rebranding to strengthen his image as the true heir to the Sena’s Hindutva legacy.

With the Maharashtra Assembly election approaching, these releases strategically promote Shinde as a humble, relentless worker aligned with Bal Thackeray’s original vision - positioning him as a ‘man of the people’ in contrast to privileged Thackeray scion Aaditya Thackeray.

His close ties to Thane’s industrial belt, where he has cultivated a loyal following, have served as a political bulwark against attacks from both the opposition and sections of the BJP eager to see him fail.

Shinde’s story is one of resilience and reinvention. For a man who once ferried passengers in an autorickshaw, he has come far indeed. Yet, as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, his journey has only just begun. Whether he can maintain his grip on power in the volatile years ahead will depend on his ability to evolve - as he has done so often in the past.

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