‘BJP In Maharashtra Did Exactly What It Had Slammed Uddhav For’

Vistasp Hodiwala, an advertising professional based in Mumbai, says BJP has kept its alliance partners on their toes, and will cut them to size at an opportune time. His views:

The situation in Maharashtra politics, as it exists now, has evolved from a tragedy into a terrible farce. If there was any sliver of doubt remaining in anyone’s mind about the naked opportunism that has possessed the state of Maharashtra (except I may add, the ideologically-driven multitude), that has been surgically removed with this unalloyed stroke of hubris that comes with a belief in their own infallibility. The real question to ask would be what constitutes that multitude in terms of sheer numbers?

In some sense, the BJP has gone and done exactly what they had earlier accused the erstwhile Shiv Sena of. They have gone and allied with a party with which they have zero ideological ground to share. Just how this will play out against the backdrop of unbridled cynicism within the citizenry is impossible to make sense of at this early stage.

The other question is, ‘are they’: that is, is the Shiv Sena cadre still with Uddhav Thackeray? Or, is that what we would like to believe, given our biases?

This may well be true but that would be a conclusion to be drawn after someone has toured the state and gotten a sense of the voters’ pulse. Uddhav does have a lot of goodwill in many parts of Maharashtra, and, as has been seen in the past, the ‘aam aadmi’ does not take kindly to outright betrayals (in this case, the blow delivered to the son of a man they have adored); but we have no empirical evidence at the moment to make hardcore conclusions.

What can be safely concluded, though, is that Eknath Shinde’s clout and position within the alliance is no longer on rock-solid footing, as it was even a couple of months ago. Perhaps, the BJP’s grand strategy is to keep its allies on their toes and cut them to size when the opportunity presents.

ALSO READ: ‘Uddhav Has Gained Public Sympathy And Support’

To his credit, Uddhav had realised this and thought the better of aligning with them; but, that did not come about without significant damage to his own party.

Will Shinde implode?

Well, I am sure he knows he is certainly not getting another shot at being the chief minister in a year’s time. There is just too much competition. And that would probably make his own position shakier even within his own splinter party. Insecurity can make leaders do strange things; hence, we will just have to wait and watch from here on. 

As for Sharad Pawar, let’s be honest. Pawar is a tenacious politician and a canny fighter, but the man is not getting any younger. When the chips are down, day-to-day politics can be an exhausting affair. However, what Pawar does have as formidable support are two leaders within the party who are not just ideologically driven (read secular), but, also, extremely combative when it comes to taking the BJP on in its own backyard.

In Amol Mitkari (the state NCP general secretary) and Jitendra Ahwad (the national general secretary), Pawar has two individuals who can form the core of a new NCP. The real strength will be in shaping the party in the image of Supriya Sule, who, I personally believe, is the politician to watch out for. She has the smarts and the empathy needed to be a long-distance-runner, like her father, and she has only just begun.

So, what about the ordinary folks of Maharashtra? Are they sick and tired of this brazen power-grab?

Yes and no! In an increasingly polarised world of voters, the ordinary citizen has become a bigger trapeze artist than a politician. They can find ludicrous justifications in why their leaders do the things they do and make peace with all of it in a heartbeat! They may be tired and cynical, but most of them still cannot let go of their outdated ideological opportunism even in the face of clear, personal and institutionalised perfidy.

One can only hope that they are sick and tired enough to teach these worthies a lesson they won’t ever forget. But, I won’t be holding my breath on it! 

The narrator is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of a Mumbai-based advertising agency and a partner and mentor at another digital start-up

As told to Amit Sengupta

Aaditya Thackeray about bjp

Those Who Ill-Treated People From Bihar Are Now With BJP: Aaditya Thackeray

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said that those who “ill-treated people from Bihar” are now with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, while also stating that everyone existed “peacefully” under the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Thackeray was on a visit to Bihar where he held a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Speaking to the reporters after the meeting, Thackeray said that Maharashtra was moving forward when there was an MVA government.

“Those who ill-treated people from Bihar are with the BJP, they should answer. Everyone existed peacefully in Maharashtra. In the last two and a half years when there was the MVA government, we were working according to the Constitution and the state was moving forward,” he said.

Thackeray’s remarks came in response to a question if the safety of the people from Bihar would be ensured in Maharashtra.

The response of the Shiv Sena leader is crucial as a large chunk of the migrants from Bihar live in Mumbai.

Elaborating on the issues discussed during the meeting with Tejashwi, he said that they did not have any political conversation.

“We had discussions on various issues like the environment, development, and industries. The most important thing is that any youth who wants to work for the country, employment, Constitution and against inflation. If all of us keep interacting, we can do something good for the country. We have not had any political conversation today,” he said.

When asked who would lead the politics by the youth, the Shiv Sena leader said, “Anyone can do the job. Tejashwi is working well, we keep on interacting. We are long racehorses.”

He lauded the work of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and said that Bihar has seen significant progress under their leadership.

Thackeray’s visit to Bihar comes ahead of the civic body polls in Mumbai. (ANI)

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Shiv Sena Leader sudhir suri Shot Dead Amritsar

Shiv Sena Leader Shot Dead In Amritsar

Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri died after being shot at in Amritsar on Friday.

The firing took place near Gopal Mandir in Amritsar during an agitation. Soon after the incident, Suri was rushed to a hospital where he died. Police arrived at the spot and arrested the accused. Police also recovered the weapons.

“Sudhir Suri was shot outside Gopal Mandir, Amritsar during some agitation. He sustained bullet injuries and was rushed to hospital and died. The accused has been arrested. His weapons are recovered,” Arun Pal Singh, Commissioner of Police, Amritsar said.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)

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Shinde on MLAs

Sanjay Raut’s Judicial Custody Extended Till Oct 17

The judicial custody of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut in connection with the Patra Chawl land scam case has been extended till October 17 on Monday.

Sanjay Rauut’s custody was previously extended on October 4 for 14 days (till October 10, today) by a Special Court in Mumbai.
Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 1 in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl in suburban Goregaon in Mumbai.

After being in the ED’s custody initially, the Shiv Sena leader was sent to judicial custody for 14 days on August 8. On August 22, a special PMLA court extended Raut’s custody till September 5 which was further extended till September 19 and then till October 3 and 10.

ED officials raided the Shiv Sena leader’s home on July 31, and after detaining and questioning him for several hours and arrested him on August 1.

On June 28 this year, Sanjay Raut was summoned by the ED in connection with the prevention of the money laundering case pertaining to the Rupees 1,034 crore Patra Chawl land scam.

Back in August, the wife of Shiv Sena MP was also summoned by the agency in connection with the Patra Chawl land case.

The MP’s wife Varsha Raut was summoned by the central agency after the ED officials raided the Shiv Sena leader’s home and after detaining and questioning him (Sanjay Raut) for several hours, arrested him.

Raut is a close aide of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

According to sources, ED officials seized Rs 11.50 lakhs of unaccounted cash from his residence during the raids. Soon after the ED officials detained him in connection with the Patra Chawl land scam case, the Shiv Sena leader said that he “won’t be cowed down”.

Raut is being probed in connection with the re-development of Mumbai’s Patra Chawl.

In April this year, the ED had attached immovable properties worth Rs 11.15 crore, including a flat at Dadar, held by Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha, and eight land parcels at Kihim near Alibag, jointly held by the latter with Swapna Patkar. (ANI)

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