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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.

Zero Food Waste Starts at Home

Planning your meals and shopping smart can drastically cut down food waste. Stock take first, buy only what you need, and store perishables properly.

Food waste drastically affects the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. Therefore, it is important to adopt different strategies not only to minimise or reduce the wastage of food but also to achieve the ‘Zero Food Waste’ goal. There are many ways to do this. Let us explore them.


As we have learnt before, a lot of food is wasted in households. The following pointers will help in reducing food waste.


• Plan your grocery and vegetable shopping. Buy what you need and buy to the extent you can eat. For this, conduct a stocktaking before you go shopping to know what is already there in your refrigerator or your kitchen cabinet. There is no point in buying vegetables and similar perishable items, for example, if you know beforehand that you won’t be able to use them for a week for some reason.


• Many people discard food prematurely because they misinterpret expiration dates. Familiarise yourself with date labels such as ‘‘sell by’, ‘use by’, and ‘best before’. Often, these dates indicate peak quality rather than safety. By understanding these labels, you can make more informed decisions about when to consume or discard food.


• Storing food properly can significantly extend its shelf life. For example, keeping fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator, using airtight containers, and storing leftovers in clear containers for better visibility can help prevent spoilage. Understanding the unique storage requirements of different foods is crucial in minimising waste.


• When preparing meals, portion sizes should be appropriate for the number of people that need to be served. Avoid over-preparing, as this can lead to leftovers that are eventually wasted.


• Be creative and transform the leftover vegetables into soups, stews, or other dishes. Leftover rice can be used to make fried rice or other dishes. Leftover chapatis can be used to make fried chapatis.


• Convert all your waste food into nutrient-rich soil by subjecting it to composting.


• Donate the surplus food to appropriate organisations that operate ‘food banks’. Several NGOs in India focus on collecting and donating food. Some prominent ones include the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Feeding India, and Rise Against Hunger India. These organisations, along with others like Annamrita Foundation and Robin Hood Army, play a crucial role in addressing hunger and malnutrition in the country. These and a few other organisations focus on redistributing excess food not only from homes but also from various events like weddings, hotels, and restaurants to those who are hungry.


Restaurants and food service establishments must create a culture of continuous improvement by regularly evaluating and adapting their waste management practices. Innovative food waste management practices are essential for restaurants and restaurateurs to reduce their environmental impact, support local communities, and increase profits. By implementing a comprehensive strategy, from source reduction to customer engagement, companies can choose how they deal with food waste and contribute to a more sustainable future.


Dear readers, I have tried to present this very important topic of food waste to you through a few articles. The strategies for reducing and minimising food waste discussed in this article are just a few representative guidelines. You can keep on making value additions to these and come up with more innovative solutions to this problem. Please stop wasting food and let your children follow in your footsteps to prevent wasting food in your homes. It is their right to live in an environment that is healthy and sustainable.


(The writer is an environmentalist.)

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