top of page

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.

Wine will continue to make inroads into tier-2, tier-3 cities

Writer: Aditi Pai
Aditi Pai
Sep 14, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

From aiming for the coveted ‘corner office’ in the corporate world to sipping wines for a career, Sonal Holland, India’s first ever Master of Wine talks to The Perfect Voice Deputy Editor Aditi Pai about what prompted her to make the shift from balance sheets to Bordeaux and Burgundy. Excerpts…


Wine will continue to make inroads into tier-2, tier-3 cities

You are India’s first Master of Wine, an achievement that becomes even more spectacular because India isn’t really a wine drinking country. And what prompted you to go beyond being a wine consumer and study wines?

I ventured into the world of wine quite late in my life. About 17 years ago, I was working as Director of Sales at a NASDAQ-listed Fortune 500 company, but I felt that my work wasn’t doing justice to my skill set. Looking to give my career a new direction, I chanced upon the nascent wine market in India, with no qualified wine experts to drive its growth. I saw a huge opportunity for growth and success, for wine and wine professionals. I knew that this industry would flourish in India and there would be a need for qualified wine experts.

Taking a futuristic stance, I decided to study wine, but since there were no world-class wine institutes in India back then, I enrolled at the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) School in London to complete the early stages of my education. This included the institute’s flagship course- Diploma in Wines and Spirits.


Was the Master of Wine title always your target?

Absolutely, I was very clear from the start that I must build my wine career over solid credentials. Since the Master of Wine is the most coveted global wine title, I knew it would uniquely position me as an unparalleled authority on wine in India, thus creating opportunities that would expedite my professional growth in this budding industry.


MW has a very low pass rate. What were the main challenges you encountered along the way?

The MW exam has a pass rate of four per cent; it is indeed one of the toughest exams in the world. It took me six years to achieve the title and the journey was certainly not an easy one. India was still a nascent wine market when I enrolled at the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW), so I had no mentors to guide me and there were barely any wine-tasting opportunities available. So, to complete my education, I had to stay away from my home and family. Being apart from my two-year-old daughter for my studies was the hardest part of this journey. Thankfully, I had an extremely supportive husband and family, who held the fort in my absence. I couldn’t have achieved this title without their support. It goes on to prove that women can overcome any challenge if they have a great support system.


Corporate India to Indian Wine, how was the shift?

I strongly believe that no amount of experience and knowledge ever goes to waste. So while the wine industry has a different work culture, my experience as a corporate professional has certainly helped me build my career in wine. It has bestowed me with the virtue of professionalism which helps me excel at my job.


You’ve often said that you were inspired by British wine writer and critic Jancis Robinson. What about her work inspired you the most?

Jancis has been a beacon of inspiration throughout my career in wine. Her vast body of work opened my eyes to all the opportunities that were possible in the wine sector. It is amazing how she continues to evolve and innovate, remaining a leading voice in the wine community, and providing guidance to everyone from Masters of Wine to budding wine enthusiasts.

Recently, I invited Jancis to India to experience the country’s fast-evolving wine culture. Her enthusiasm to learn more about the Indian trade and consumers again reminded me that learning should never stop; it’s the only way to keep growing and stay relevant for a long time in the wine industry.


Your views on the Indian wine industry and your forecast for the wines in India over the next five years? Any wine styles or varieties that you think will be the future?

India is one of the most promising wine markets in the world, with scope for domestic and international wines of every style and at every price point. Wine will continue to make inroads into tier-2 and tier-3 cities over the next five years, bringing wine culture to a newer and wider base of consumers. However, the industry needs to instil confidence among these new consumers, so that they can purchase wines that suit their taste and keep returning to them.

It is with this intent that we launched the India Wines and Spirits Award- which provides a comprehensive list of the best Indian and international in-market wines to consumers. This blind-tasting competition adheres to global standards and is judged by some of the best palates in the country.


Alcohol consumption is often inspired by trends – gin and tonic, innovative cocktails etc. how can wine stay relevant or popular in a whiskey and beer drinking country that’s driven by trends

Wine is the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage in India, growing steadily at a 14 per cent rate for the past five years, and its consumption will continue to grow. The reason is that wine is perceived to be healthy, is seen as a symbol of success and sophistication, and is socially the most acceptable drink in India. No other alcoholic beverage enjoys this trilogy of appeal and it will help wine stay relevant among consumers in a whisky and beer-drinking country.

Comments

bottom of page