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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.

The Illusion of Confidence

Writer: Divyaa Advaani 
Divyaa Advaani 
Oct 17, 2025
3 min read

In the business world, confidence has become a kind of currency. The firm handshake, the unshakable tone, the assured smile — all are treated as signs of capability. Yet, not all confidence is real. Some of it is an illusion carefully built to hide uncertainty beneath the surface.


It is not uncommon to meet people who appear unshakably sure of themselves, but who crumble when their ideas are questioned. Others project calm strength in meetings but struggle to make decisions when no one is watching. This is not confidence; it is performance. And over time, the difference shows.


Real confidence cannot be faked for long. It is not loud, nor is it dependent on constant validation. It is rooted in a quiet understanding of one’s strengths, values, and limitations. It is the ability to remain composed when challenged and to respond with grace instead of defensiveness. This depth of confidence often distinguishes the respected leader from the merely visible one.


In the age of personal branding, the illusion of confidence is more dangerous than ever. Social media rewards appearances — perfect pictures, polished statements, and success stories with little mention of the struggle that built them. But people are growing wiser. They can sense the difference between authenticity and a well-rehearsed act. What once looked aspirational now often feels distant, even hollow.


A strong personal brand is not built on projection but on presence. It comes from knowing who you are, what you stand for, and how consistently you show up. The moment a person begins to rely on appearance more than essence, the cracks begin to show — in relationships, in leadership, and eventually, in credibility.


The truth is that confidence without character doesn’t hold. The world doesn’t need louder voices; it needs steadier ones. People follow leaders who make them feel seen, not small. They trust those who admit mistakes and still stand tall.


Many business owners and professionals mistake style for substance. They invest in looking confident instead of becoming confident. But the latter comes only through reflection and refinement — through working on how you communicate, how you behave under pressure, and how you treat people when there’s nothing to gain.


Confidence grows quietly, from within. It develops when your personal brand reflects your real self, not a curated version of it. When your actions align with your words, and your composure remains steady despite circumstances, that’s when confidence stops being a mask and becomes your natural state.


True personal branding is not about impressing others. It’s about expressing yourself clearly, sincerely, and consistently. And when done right, it turns your presence into influence — not because you tried to appear confident, but because you became trustworthy.


For every business owner and founder reading this, it’s worth asking: are you building your confidence or simply performing it? Because the difference decides how far your brand will go.


If this reflection resonates with you and you’re ready to strengthen not just your image but the substance behind it, I invite you to join my upcoming Signature Personal Branding Program for business owners and founders beginning on October 24. It’s an intimate, limited cohort designed to help you develop a personal brand that commands respect — not through appearance, but through authentic confidence.


Because real confidence isn’t performed — it’s lived. And if you’d like to begin this journey with a personal touch, you can also book a complimentary consultation callwith me to explore where your brand truly stands today — and how we can help you take it to the next level.



(The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries.

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