top of page

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.

The Daddy of Dagdi Chawl

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

Dagdi Chawl

His persona as a dreaded ‘home grown’ don with the long moustaches has inspired many books, series and movies in popular culture. He was once feared as the ‘don’ of Dagdi Chawl. For some, he was the Robin Hood who robbed the rich and filled the pockets of the poor while for others, he was nothing more than a murderer and gangster. But Arun Gawli spread a wave of terror from the corridors of Dagdi Chawl. Be it out of fear or favour but the people of Chinchpokli elected him to the state legislative assembly between 2004 and 2009 as a member of his own party, the Akhil Bharatiya Sena. He soon became the Daddy of Dagdi Chawl, probably because his five children called him that.


Gawli joined a gangster’s gambling den in the 1980s in Mumbai and enjoyed initial political patronage from Bal Thackeray who protected him as a ‘Marathi’ strongman. The underworld was riding high in that era and Gawli was the answer to Dawood Ibrahim’s men. But by the 1990s he started attacking even the Shiv Sainiks and allegedly murdered some of them. In that decade, he founded his political outfit, the Akhil Bharatiya Sena. In 2004, he contested the elections from Chinchpokli and won but was convicted in 2008.


A desire—or need—to be seen in the corridors of power saw his wife Asha contest the assembly elections and became an MLA. Asha, too, has been accused or extortion. Their daughter Geeta is a former corporator. Last month, when Milind Narvekar visited the Gawli residence, it sparked curiosity on whether Geeta would contest the assembly elections from Byculla on a Shiv Sena (UBT) ticket.


The more prominent politician in the family is Sachin Ahir, Gawli’s nephew who is best known for his grand dahi handi celebrations at Jamboree Maidan in Worli, his constituency. He was first elected to the state assembly in 1999 and was made minister for housing in 2020. Even while Gawli may have wanted to consolidate political power within the family, Ahir turned against the uncle and joined the undivided NCP and contested the Lok Sabha elections against Gawli.


Ahir is now an MLC from the Shiv Sena (UBT). Another politician in the clan is Gawli’s uncle Hukumchand Yadav who was a legislator from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh.

Comments

bottom of page