top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Ripples before BMC elections

Congress solo threat rattles MVA Mumbai : The unilateral decision of the state Congress to contest the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently has apparently rattled the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) main allies and smaller parties, with hectic backstage politicking underway.   Barely a week after AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala’s terse announcement, supported vociferously by Mumbai unit chief Varsha Gaikwad, there are indications of the other parties considering...

Ripples before BMC elections

Congress solo threat rattles MVA Mumbai : The unilateral decision of the state Congress to contest the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently has apparently rattled the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) main allies and smaller parties, with hectic backstage politicking underway.   Barely a week after AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala’s terse announcement, supported vociferously by Mumbai unit chief Varsha Gaikwad, there are indications of the other parties considering counter-moves – to convince the Congress on a re-think.   The grand old party’s virtual threat not only unnerved the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) and their allies, but also the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), at which eyebrows are being raised for the purported discord in the MVA.   The Congress this week reached out to NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar to join hands, and the latter is reportedly keen for a broader Opposition alliance that includes the MNS.   Congress insiders claim that internal surveys have not exactly painted a rosy picture for the MVA’s prospects in the BMC polls for 227 Wards, unnerving most parties even before the poll schedules are declared by the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC).   A worse scenario could be, the sentiments may reflect across the other important municipal corporations that will go to the hustings along with BMC, adding to the gloom in the opposition camps, they caution.   Political sources deny that any so-called ‘conditional offer’ has been made to the SS (UBT) to dump MNS - if it wants the Congress ‘hand’ behind it – as reported in some sections.   Rubbishing such theories, MNS Spokesperson Sandeep Deshpande guardedly said that “we are an independent party and all our decisions are taken by the party President Raj Thackeray”.   Reiterating that the MNS is not a constituent of the MNS, Desphande also said the party is not concerned about which leader met whom or they said what about MNS, as any final call on a poll deal would be taken only after deliberations between Raj and Uddhav Thackeray.   As per current indications, the Congress will actively explore tie-ups with several Dalit, peasants, workers and minority parties/groups - though the Samajwadi Party (SP) has said it may chart a solo path – to avoid vote-split as well as safeguard the Congress’s 140-year-old ideology.   “We are not affected by claims made by anyone from any party. We shall abide by the decisions of the party high command, which was made clear last week. The party will follow it to the hilt,” a Mumbai Congress leader told  ‘ The Perfect Voice’ .   Congress leaders continue to be apprehensive over the MNS’ old violent campaigns against north Indians and minorities which may haunt it in the civic polls, and possibly mar the chances of the opposition, already reeling under a crisis of survival after back-to-back political reverses in three state assembly polls. Meanwhile, the MVA allies continued to slam the ruling MahaYuti on various counts. Chiefly, the recent flying visits by the two Deputy CMs, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, the failing law-and-order against the recent rape-cum-murder of a minor girl in Malegaon, and the alleged suicide of a college student after he was assaulted for speaking in Hindi.

Unrest within Mahayuti

Updated: Jan 21

Mahayuti

Mumbai: The state administration on Sunday stalled the appointments of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik districts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cleared the appointments before he left for Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum on Saturday. They are believed to have been stalled on behest of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the state in absence of the Chief Minister.


NCP’s Aditi Tatkare and BJP’s Girish Mahajan were entrusted with responsibilities of guardian minister for the Raigad and Nashik districts respectively, where Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale and Dada Bhuse had staked claims. Gogawale is a first-time minister while, Bhuse had been the guardian minister of the district during previous government under Eknath Shinde.


Shiv Sena, NCP and BJP all the three constituents of Mahayuti have strong roots in both the districts. However, the Shiv Sena and the NCP had been particularly on loggerheads there. The Shiv Sena, which had been demanding the guardian minister’s post in Nashik district has managed to win only two assembly seats in the district where the NCP has Six and the BJP has Five MLAs. On the contrary, in Raigad the NCP has won only one seat while the Shiv Sena and the BJP both have Three MLAs each in the district.


Sunil Tatkare, MP from Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and the stat unit president of the NCP and father of Aditi Tatkare, had been the guardian minister of Raigad between 2004 and 2014. Gogawale had always been his political opponent before Tatkare joined the Mahayuti government under Ajit Pawar’s leadership in 2023. Gogawale claimed that all the Six Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs in the district had opined in his favour to be the guardian minister of the district and after the decision to appoint Aditi Tatkare was announced, his supporters resorted to violent protests. They burnt tyres in bid to stall traffic on highway in the district. Reacting to the developments, Tatkare said that the issue should be pondered over after CM Fadnavis returns from Davos on Saturday and settled amicably.


In Nashik Girish Mahajan had been the guardian minister of the district between 2014 and 2019 when Fadnavis was the Chief Minister.


The post of guardian minister doesn’t have any constitutional mandate and is considered to be a political appointment. Guardian ministers head the district planning and development councils (DPDC) that control the funds for development works being carried out in the particular district. This control wields much of political power to the minister in that district whereby spreading the party in the district becomes much easier. This is the reason why the grass root politicians seem to be very sensitive to such appointments.


While Gogawale and Bhuse are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian ministers, some others like NCP’s Hasan Mushrif and BJP’s Pankaja Munde are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian district in their home districts of Kolhapur and Beed respectively. DCM Shinde is learnt to have gone to his ancestral village Dare in Satara district after the decision and BJP’s firefighters Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Girish Mahajan are expected to meet him there to try finding a way out of the issue.

Comments

bottom of page