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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.

The Family Politicians

Updated: Nov 12, 2024

Nimbalkar

In the affluent western belt of Maharashtra, the erstwhile princely state town of Phaltan has seen the Nimbalkar family being split vertically. Erstwhile nobility, the two parts of the family has been engaged in a feud over establishing and retaining political supremacy in the area.


The most prominent among them is Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, a former minister who is also the former chairman of the legislative council. A post graduate in science and law, he was known to be a fine cricketer during his college days. Ramraje taught law at the ILS college in Pune but later moved to his hometown to head the Phaltan Education Society where he continued teaching law along with leading the educational institutes.


On one hand is Hindurao Naik Nimbalkar whose son Ranjeetsinh is a former BJP MP from Madha. On the other side are Ramraje and brother Sanjeevraje who heads Govind, the dairy and milk products business.


Ramraje joined politics in 1991 and became chairman of the municipal council. He then contested the assembly election and became an independent MLA in 1995. He supported the Manohar Joshi led Shiv Sena BJP government on the condition of bringing water to drought-prone areas in his district. With his efforts, he played a key role in the Krishna Valley Development Corporation which he led as the vice chairman. He later was appointed as the vice chairman of the state planning commission.


His grandfather Malojiraje Naik-Nimbalkar was the family’s first member in active politics. He was the minister in Morarji Desai’s cabinet and had the portfolios of PWD and irrigation with him. Records show that the construction work of the present day Mantralaya building was executed during Malojiraje’s tenure as the PWD minister in Maharashtra .


The family is connected to politicians by marriage as well. Ramraje’s daughter is married to Rahul Narwekar, Speaker in the Maharashtra Assembly in the outgoing legislature. He began his career as a Shiv Sena corporator from Mumbai but moved to the NCP and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Maval. He then shifted to the BJP and entered the Legislative Assembly and was appointed the speaker in 2023.


Ramraje and Sanjeevraje went with Ajit Pawar when the NCP split last year. Last month, Sanjeevraje, chairman of the NCP in Satara district, returned to Sharad Pawar while his brother has remained with Ajit but has refused to actively campaign for his party.

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