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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Unshackled yet Vulnerable

Eknath Shinde’s high stakes pivot in the post-Ajit era Mumbai: The swearing-in of Sunetra Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister has optically restored the Mahayuti’s "tripod" structure, but for Eknath Shinde and his Shiv Sena faction, the ground reality has shifted seismically. The sudden exit of Ajit Pawar—often seen as the "counterweight" in the alliance—has fundamentally rewritten Shinde’s survival equation. For the last two years, Shinde operated in a high-pressure "sandwich" between Devendra...

Unshackled yet Vulnerable

Eknath Shinde’s high stakes pivot in the post-Ajit era Mumbai: The swearing-in of Sunetra Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister has optically restored the Mahayuti’s "tripod" structure, but for Eknath Shinde and his Shiv Sena faction, the ground reality has shifted seismically. The sudden exit of Ajit Pawar—often seen as the "counterweight" in the alliance—has fundamentally rewritten Shinde’s survival equation. For the last two years, Shinde operated in a high-pressure "sandwich" between Devendra Fadnavis’s strategic command and Ajit Pawar’s administrative dominance. With the latter gone, Shinde is no longer just the "other" Deputy CM; he is now the operational anchor of the government, a shift that brings both immense opportunity and existential risk. Sunetra Pawar’s sudden elevation as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister after Ajit Pawar’s tragic death has also unsettled other Shiv Sena leaders, who publicly welcomed the move but privately expressed surprise and concern. The development reshapes the Mahayuti alliance, with Eknath Shinde caught between asserting his mass appeal and managing BJP’s growing dominance. Third Wheel Until last week, Eknath Shinde often found his administrative influence curtailed by Ajit Pawar’s aggressive style. Ajit "Dada" controlled the bureaucracy and the purse strings, often leaving Shinde’s MLAs complaining about stalled files and delayed funds. How the new reality would unfold is not yet clear. With Sunetra Pawar being a political novice inducted primarily for "sympathy" and "legacy" management, Shinde is now the sole experienced administrator alongside Fadnavis. The "administrative friction" that plagued Shinde’s faction is gone. In cabinet meetings and operational governance, Shinde’s voice will likely carry significantly more weight, as he is no longer competing for airtime with a heavyweight like Ajit Pawar. Finance Dilemma The decision by Chief Minister Fadnavis to retain the Finance and Planning portfolio—rather than handing it to Sunetra Pawar—is the single most critical development for the Shiv Sena. The good news is that Shinde’s MLAs will no longer have to beg an NCP Finance Minister for development funds—a major grievance that had threatened internal revolts in the Sena camp. However, it can also turn out to be the bad news, since financial power will be completely centralized within the BJP now. Previously, Shinde could subtly play the BJP and NCP against each other to extract resources. Now, he faces a monolithic BJP command center. If Fadnavis tightens the purse strings, Shinde has no "second door" to knock on. The BMC Bargaining Chip The immediate effects of Shinde’s new fears were seen in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other Municipal Corporations in the MMR, where insteady of bargaining for a larger share of power, the Shiv Sena under Shinde appeared to be content with whatever it got from the BJP and quietly accepting it. This was very unlikely of their track record till now and contrary to the party insiders who were very aggressive till last week sending out signals that Shinde would bargain strongly for the demands like Mayoral post in Mumbai to assert the ‘rights of Marathi Manoos’.

Warriors of Night

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

We name our daughters Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati; we worship the divine feminine power in the temples but oppress, repress and even attack the feminine power amidst us. That is the irony in the way India sees its women.

After the safety of the daylight fades, women are seen as easy prey by the predators of the night.

We mark the nine nights of Navratri, the festival of the goddess, by celebrating the dedication and valour of nine real-life women who brave the challenges of the night to pursue their dreams.


Part - 4


Never felt unsafe

The singer says there has been a generational change over the last two decades

Never felt unsafe

Work has no timings for Aisha Sayed. Sometimes, she begins her studio recording at 12 AM and finishes by 5 AM; at other times, concerts and live shows start at 9 AM and she’s done by midnight. In her field of work as a performer and singer, Sayed is used to not getting a night’s sleep and often returning home when most of the city is set to wake up. “I have been travelling at night but I have never, ever, felt unsafe in Mumbai,” says the singer-performer who began her career at the age of 13 years. Her father spotted her talent for music and took her to meet a sound engineer who was their neighbour in Bandra. The family helped her get opportunities and from there, her career began.

Being among the top contenders in Indian Idol, season 3, in 2007 catapulted her to fame and it opened up a world of new performance opportunities across the country. “I was just 20 years then and I was travelling the world, performing at the most lavish weddings, staying at the most luxurious hotels and performing at big corporate gigs,” she says. Safety, while on work, is has never been an issue for her for the organizers arrange a security detail for the performers. “They escort us until we reach the room. And since we travel with our team in a big group, there is always safety in numbers,” says Sayed, who sings in 10 languages. Her peers have faced instances of audience members being rowdy. “Once in Delhi, a group of drunk men followed my colleague to her room and kept banging on her door late into the night. But I have been fortunate,” she says.

Work assignments have taken to varied places, from the most luxurious international destinations to far-off venues in the hinterland of India where she’s travelled through dark, dense forested areas. “I have driven through areas where the only light is that of your car’s headlights. Turn around and you see pitch darkness,” says Sayed. She’s always got a little prayer on her lips when travelling through these remote areas for miles together. She recalls a show in Chattisgarh where she had to travel for nine hours at a stretch through remote and forested areas. “No place in our country is as safe as Mumbai,” she stresses. She would know, considering her extensive travels. She advises women to travel in groups while in places that are unfamiliar or unknown and never to venture out at night alone. “Keep your family informed of your whereabouts,” she says.

While her agreements state that proper security at all times, Sayed says that she drives her own car if she’s out at night for parties or personal work but insists that the people of Mumbai are largely helpful and cooperative. A rickshaw driver who once drove to home in the wee hours of the night, after a recording, waited at her gate until the watchman let her in. Friends and colleagues have dropped her home several times.

Mumbai, she feels, has changed—and it’s for the better, in the past two decades. “Earlier, on buses and trains, men would use the crowd as an excuse to touch women inappropriately. That has gone down. There is a generational change that I see,” says Sayed. She used to take the BEST buses and trains to her training classes and for recordings in the early days of her career.

Her timings are inconsistent and her shows take her to various cities and towns. But the Mumbai-bred girl emphasizes that her city is very safe for women, despite the various incidents of violence. “Mumbai is the only place where a woman can wear what she wants, wear bright red lipstick, leave her hair open and look glamorous and still be safe.”

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