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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Infrastructure moment in MMR

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) stands at a critical inflection point as the Mahayuti alliance secured near-complete control over key municipal corporations across the region. With aligned political leadership at the state and civic levels, the long-fragmented governance architecture of India’s most complex urban agglomeration may finally see greater coherence in planning and execution. For a region grappling with mobility stress, water insecurity and uneven urban expansion, the...

Infrastructure moment in MMR

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) stands at a critical inflection point as the Mahayuti alliance secured near-complete control over key municipal corporations across the region. With aligned political leadership at the state and civic levels, the long-fragmented governance architecture of India’s most complex urban agglomeration may finally see greater coherence in planning and execution. For a region grappling with mobility stress, water insecurity and uneven urban expansion, the question now is not what to build—but how quickly and seamlessly projects can be delivered. Urban mobility remains the backbone of MMR’s infrastructure agenda. Several metro corridors are at advanced stages, including the Andheri West–Vikhroli Metro Line 6 and extensions of the Colaba–Bandra–SEEPZ Metro Line 3. While construction has progressed steadily, coordination issues with municipal agencies—particularly related to road restoration, utilities shifting and traffic management—have often slowed execution. With elected civic bodies now politically aligned with the state government and agencies like MMRDA and MMRC, these bottlenecks are expected to ease. Decision-making on road closures, permissions for casting yards and last-mile integration with buses and footpaths could see faster turnarounds. Suburban rail projects such as the Panvel–Karjat corridor and additional railway lines on the Central and Western routes are also likely to benefit from smoother land acquisition and rehabilitation approvals, traditionally the most contentious municipal functions. Regional Connectivity MMR’s road infrastructure has expanded rapidly in recent years, but execution has often been uneven across municipal boundaries. Projects such as the Mumbai Coastal Road, the Goregaon–Mulund Link Road, the Thane–Borivali tunnel and the Airoli–Katai connector have regional significance but require constant coordination with local bodies for utilities, encroachments and traffic planning. Under a unified civic dispensation, authorities expect fewer inter-agency delays and greater willingness at the municipal level to prioritise regionally critical projects over hyper-local political considerations. The next phase of the Coastal Road, suburban creek bridges, and arterial road widening projects in fast-growing nodes like Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli and Panvel could be streamlined as municipal corporations align their development plans with state transport objectives. Water Security Water supply remains one of the most politically sensitive infrastructure issues in MMR, particularly in peripheral urban zones. Projects such as the Surya Regional Water Supply Scheme and proposed dam developments in the Karjat region are designed to address chronic shortages in Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar and parts of Navi Mumbai. While these projects are state-driven, municipal cooperation is critical for distribution networks, billing systems and sewerage integration. With elected bodies replacing administrators, local governments are expected to accelerate last-mile pipelines, treatment plants and sewage networks that often lag behind bulk water infrastructure. Unified political control may also reduce resistance to tariff rationalisation and long-delayed sewage treatment upgrades mandated under environmental norms. Housing Integration One area where political alignment could have an outsized impact is redevelopment—particularly slum rehabilitation and transit-oriented development. Many large housing projects have stalled due to disputes between civic officials, state agencies and local political interests. A cohesive governance structure could fast-track approvals for cluster redevelopment near metro corridors, unlocking both housing supply and ridership potential. Municipal corporations are also likely to align their development control regulations more closely with state urban policy, enabling higher density near transport nodes and more predictable redevelopment timelines. This could be transformative for older suburbs and industrial belts awaiting regeneration. The return of elected municipal councils after years of administrative rule introduces political accountability but also sharper alignment with state priorities. Budget approvals, tendering processes and policy decisions that earlier faced delays due to political uncertainty are expected to move faster. Capital expenditure plans could increasingly reflect regional priorities rather than fragmented ward-level demands. However, challenges remain. Faster execution will depend not only on political control but on institutional capacity, contractor performance and financial discipline. Public scrutiny is also likely to intensify as elected representatives seek visible results within fixed tenures.

Vote Splitters or Game-Changers?

Humayun Kabir
Humayun Kabir

India’s political landscape is once again getting crowded with new party banners, ambitious launches, and familiar claims of “alternatives.” In just the last fortnight, three new political outfits have emerged across three states. In West Bengal, Humayun Kabir has floated the Janata Unnayan Party; in Odisha, former Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim has unveiled a party to be formally launched on January 12, National Youth Day; and in Telangana, K. Kavitha, recently expelled from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), has declared her intention to chart an independent political course.


While the circumstances behind these moves differ, they collectively raise familiar questions: What inspires the formation of new parties? Can they alter political equations meaningfully? Do they represent genuine alternatives or merely fragments born of personal conflict? Past experience suggests that while new parties are often launched with optimism, only a handful have left a lasting imprint.


Opportunistic Splinters

West Bengal offers the most immediate test. Assembly elections are scheduled for April–May, and Kabir’s Janata Unnayan Party will face its first electoral trial. Kabir was elected in 2021 as a Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate but now challenges the same party. He has claimed his party will contest 182 constituencies and win at least 100 seats. He accuses Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of appeasing Hindus and abandoning secularism. Yet, Kabir himself appears to pursue Muslim vote bank–centric politics, focusing on 43 Muslim-majority constituencies in Murshidabad, Malda, and North Dinajpur.


Whether such a strategy, centred on emotional and religious mobilisation while side lining socio-economic concerns, can seriously challenge the TMC remains doubtful. Even alliances with AIMIM or the Indian Secular Front (ISF) offer no guarantee. AIMIM’s recent Bihar success was largely confined to Seemanchal, showing its pan-India appeal is limited. Similarly, ISF’s only achievement to date is its single seat in the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections. In this context, alliances with these parties may prove a cropper.


Mohammed Moquim in Odisha faces a different challenge. On December 8, he wrote to Sonia Gandhi, citing Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s age as a hindrance, questioning Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, and suggesting Priyanka Gandhi should lead the party. A week later, Moquim was expelled. Against the backdrop of a weakened Congress, a BJD-dominated state, and an expanding BJP, Moquim’s immediate challenge is organisational survival. Even if he positions his party regionally, it may end up benefiting the BJP by dividing anti-BJP votes rather than emerging as a credible alternative.


Telangana presents a more complicated picture. K. Kavitha’s break with the BRS follows her arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case and her time in Tihar Jail. After her release in August 2024, she has consistently targeted her party for corruption and called its organisation “a joke.” She was expelled by her father and BRS leader, K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), and resigned as a Legislative Council member, with her resignation recently accepted. Kavitha has announced that her Telangana Jagruthi Samiti will be transformed into a full-fledged political party, opening its office close to the BRS headquarters, signalling her immediate target. Given BRS’s declining electoral performance, Kavitha may attract some discontented leaders. However, this alone does not solve the larger challenge of building a credible, sustainable alternative.


Born From Breakups

A common thread runs through these cases. Kabir, Moquim, and Kavitha launched new parties after being expelled. Personal grievance and the urge to settle scores appear to be strong motivations. Successful new parties in India rest on clear ideology, new social coalitions, or distinct policy visions. The rise of Dravidian parties, the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) stunning first-election victory in Andhra Pradesh, and the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) breakthrough in giving Dalits representation in UP—a state long dominated by Yadav-OBC hegemony—illustrate how parties succeed when they build a strong foundation and challenge entrenched power structures. By contrast, parties formed merely as alternatives or around individual charisma often collapse.


Indian political history is full of such examples. Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party merged with Congress after an initial flourish. In Karnataka, the Karnataka Janata Paksha, floated by B. S. Yediyurappa, failed to establish itself and was dissolved. The post-Emergency Janata Party, which once promised to unite anti-Congress forces, collapsed due to factionalism. Even high-profile experiments like Prashant Kishore’s Bihar venture ended in humiliation.


In India’s already crowded political arena, a party that lacks a fundamentally fresh approach risks being little more than a vote-splitting distraction, often benefiting the ruling party. Even when they survive an initial defeat, momentum and mobilisation weaken, making sustained relevance difficult. The critical question is whether these formations will remain mere vote-splitters or emerge as game-changers. History shows they seldom do.


(The writer is a political commentator. Views personal.)

 

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