top of page

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.

When a 20-minute train journey turns into 3-hour ordeal

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

When a 20-minute train journey turns into 3-hour ordeal

Mumbai: The derailment of local train at Kalyan on Friday night turned my 20 minute journey into a three hour ordeal.


I left my office in Thane somewhere around 11 PM. I boarded the Kalyan local at 11.15 PM. Within a few minutes the train moved but stopped after some time. Three or four times the same episode was repeated. Constantly, I was looking at my wrist watch and helplessly chatting with the co-passengers. Since it was the ladies coach which I boarded the women were virtually becoming restless at every given moment.

It was dark outside. The announcement made within the compartment was not audible. We were scared. After sometime once again the train started. It was crawling but slowly silently reached Kalwa station. At this particular juncture again, the train came to a grinding halt for 20 minutes. After sometime, I spoke to my husband and he told me to get down at Mumbra station. Around 12.45 am the train somehow reached Mumbra.


I waited on the platform for half an hour until my husband arrived. During this period the announcements which were made by the railways on the platform were also not at all audible. Due to which we were trying to get some information from our cell phone. Confusion was growing every moment and we were in total darkness about what exactly was happening around, she added further.


Some ladies in the compartment were hovering inside and some preferred to stand near the door. While coming out of the station we saw all the trains were virtually standing in a queue on the track. We came out of the station and hired a cab and managed to reach around 2 AM at home in Dombivli.


The local train services were disrupted on Friday night and the woos of the passengers were on the following the derailment of a coach at Kalyan railway station. The incident occurred around 9 PM on platform number 2, when a coach of a train heading towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) went off the tracks.


The passengers who were traveling through local trains have to face tremendous hardship till Saturday early morning.


According to the Railway administration, the derailment took place at a critical section of the station, known as the 'king point,' where tracks diverge into multiple lines, making the incident more disruptive. Train services on both sides were affected, with movement toward Karjat restored. The mail and express trains which were obstructing the movement of relief trains were diverted via Karjat Lonavala Pune daund and back to Manmad.

Comments

bottom of page