The Shinde show in Thane

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on Saturday once again showed the clout chief minister Eknath Shinde has in the ruling Mahayuti alliance. It was an all-Shinde show, especially in his hometown, Thane.
There was no corner left in the city where posters and banners welcoming Modi were not put up by Shinde’s party. The programme at Thane was entirely handled by the chief minister’s son and Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde along with local party leaders – right from selection of venue to organising buses to transport public for the meeting.
While Shinde’s party colleagues were happy with the grand event, leaders from ally BJP were not so pleased as the chief minister’s hometown of Thane was chosen for the rally in which the prime minister sounded the poll bugle for the assembly elections in Maharashtra. A senior Mumbai BJP leader felt that Mumbai should have been the venue to launch an ambitious project like Metro 3, which was pushed by Devendra Fadnavis from day one. The leader’s contention was that winning seats in Thane is anyway not a problem for the ruling alliance. It can win all the three seats—Thane city, Kopri Panchpakhadi (represented by CM Shinde) and Ovala-Majiwada. Organising the programme in Mumbai would have had a better impact in the city, he felt. However, Shinde prevailed. Significantly, Modi’s praise of Shinde in the rally was not missed by anyone.
The buzz in western Maharashtra
Senior politician Harshvardhan Patil is finally joining Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) at a public function on Monday. After Kolhapur’s Samarjeetsinh Ghatge, Patil is the second prominent western Maharashtra leader to move from BJP to NCP (SP). Next in line could be a few leaders from Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Senior Pawar’s residences, Silver Oak (Mumbai) and Modi Baug (Pune) have become hubs of activity recently, with a number of leaders from various parties rushing to meet him.
After Patil, senior leader Madhukar Pichad and his son Sandeep could be next. NCP MLA from Solapur district Baban Shinde has publicly said he has requested Pawar to field his son from his constituency. Pawar faction leaders say at least a dozen prominent leaders including sitting or former MLAs are expected to join their party in the next few weeks. The defections from BJP and NCP have sent alarm bells ringing in the ruling alliance. Mahayuti leaders acknowledge that they are looking for ways to deal with the buzz Pawar has managed to create in western Maharashtra.
Congress’ push in western Maharashtra
On the topic of western Maharashtra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Kolhapur visit was an attempt to galvanise the party cadre in western Maharashtra that was once a bastion of Congress. The region that forms most of the sugar belt in Maharashtra is home to cooperative sector of the state and used to call the shots in state politics and thus in Congress, which was the ruling party in the state for decades. The region also helped the party even after Sharad Pawar split it in 1998-99. Though the focus there is on Pawar now, Congress leaders are making an attempt to rebuild the party in the region and promote young leaders. Gandhi’s visit has brought the attention to Congress leader from Kolhapur, Satej Patil who had organised the entire tour. The party’s state in charge Ramesh Chennithala is promoting young leaders from each of the districts in western Maharashtra – namely, Satej Patil in Kolhapur, Vishwajit Kadam in Sangli, Sangram Thopte in Pune and Praniti Shinde in Solapur.
Azmi versus Malik
The assembly election in Mumbai is likely to witness a bitter tussle between two former colleagues – state Samajwadi Party chief Abu Azmi and legislator Nawab Malik who is with Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Malik is an MLA from Anushakti Nagar constituency but he is fielding his daughter Sana from there and is himself planning to contest from Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar where Azmi is the sitting MLA. His aides say there is anti-incumbency against Azmi, who has been representing the constituency since 2009.
An irked Azmi has now decided to get even with Malik and field a candidate opposite the latter’s daughter. Significantly, Malik was first elected as MLA from Samajwadi Party but later quit the party following a tussle with Azmi.
Marathi tune
BJP is doing everything to counter the Maharashtra vs Gujarat narrative that damaged it in Mumbai during the Lok Sabha elections. Besides giving classical language status to Marathi, the party squeezed in a programme in Modi’s schedule and gathered Marathi faces from literature, art and culture to attend it. The party’s Mumbai unit is also organising Marathi dandiya in Kalachowkie. It will go on for seven days, with prizes like iPhones to be distributed every day.