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By:

Rajendra Pandharpure

15 April 2025 at 2:25:54 pm

Too Many Cooks in Pune

The city’s civic poll contest has turned into a free-for-all, exposing how Maharashtra’s once-stable alliances have unravelled owing to selfish ambition Pune:  Pune’s municipal election was once a relatively orderly affair, governed by predictable coalitions and familiar rivalries. This time it resembles a crowded roundabout with no right of way. The collapse of both the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has produced a four-cornered contest in almost every...

Too Many Cooks in Pune

The city’s civic poll contest has turned into a free-for-all, exposing how Maharashtra’s once-stable alliances have unravelled owing to selfish ambition Pune:  Pune’s municipal election was once a relatively orderly affair, governed by predictable coalitions and familiar rivalries. This time it resembles a crowded roundabout with no right of way. The collapse of both the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has produced a four-cornered contest in almost every ward, transforming what should have been a referendum on civic governance into a stress test for Maharashtra’s splintered politics. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opting for muscular self-reliance, is contesting 157 of the 165 seats in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on its own, supplemented by eight allotted to the Republican Party and one sponsored candidate. Both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are fielding more than 100 candidates each, most under the familiar clock symbol that once unified them. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction has nominated 111 candidates, while the Congress has put up 90, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) 70, and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) 44. Even within nominal alliances, ‘friendly contests’ abound with the Congress and the Sena (UBT) facing each other in around 20 wards. Political Unravelling Behind this arithmetic lies a deeper political unravelling. The uneasy coexistence of uncle Sharad Pawar and his usurper nephew Ajit Pawar has finally snapped, taking down both the BJP-led Mahayuti and the opposition MVA with it. In their place has emerged a latticework of tactical understandings that vary by city and convenience. In Pune, the Congress has tied up with Sena (UBT) and the MNS, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP has drawn closer to a faction of the Republican Party led by Sachin Kharat. The Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), which has aligned with the Congress in Mumbai, is going it alone in Pune. The Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and a scattering of smaller outfits complete the picture. For voters, the result is bewilderment while opportunistic politicians make hay. In many wards the real contest has narrowed to a straight fight between the BJP and one or the other NCP faction, despite the apparent multiplicity of players. The churn has been accelerated by defections on an industrial scale. As the BJP denied tickets to 42 sitting corporators, a procession of disappointed aspirants crossed the aisle to secure nominations elsewhere. Former BJP corporators such as Amol Balwadkar, Dhananjay Jadhav, Prakash Dhore, Archana Musale and Shankar Pawar have resurfaced as NCP or Shiv Sena candidates, often pitted against their former colleagues. Dynastic politics, far from fading, has adapted neatly to the chaos. Surendra Pathare, son of Sharad Pawar-aligned MLA Bapusaheb Pathare, has joined the BJP and received tickets for both himself and his wife. Prithviraj Sutar, son of former minister Shashikant Sutar, has defected from Sena (UBT) to the BJP and been duly rewarded. Abhijeet Shivarkar, son of former Congress minister Balasaheb Shivarkar, has made a similar journey. Elsewhere, Sunny Nimhan, son of ex-MLA Vinayak Nimhan, is contesting on a BJP ticket, while the son of former Congress minister Ramesh Bagwe remains with his father’s party. Senior Figures The organisational churn has drawn senior figures into the fray. City chiefs of almost every major party - the BJP’s Dhiraj Ghate, Congress’s Arvind Shinde, Ajit Pawar NCP’s Subhash Jagtap, Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay More, Shinde Sena’s Nana Bhangire, MNS’s Sainath Babar and AAP’s Sudarshan Jagdale - are contesting, as is the mercurial Dhananjay Benkar. Their presence underlines both the stakes involved and the absence of clear command structures. If there is any leader who is emblematic of this confusion, it is Prashant Jagtap. The city president of Sharad Pawar’s NCP, he resigned in protest against any accommodation with Ajit Pawar’s faction, joined the Congress and is now contesting from Wanwadi. His move encapsulates the moral fatigue of cadre caught between loyalty and viability. Uncertainty had reigned until the final day of withdrawals as candidate lists were delayed and alliances were revised. Only the BJP moved swiftly to declare its slate, a small but telling advantage in a contest where clarity itself has become a political asset. For Pune, the danger is that pressing civic problems like water supply, transport and planning will be drowned out by the din of factional warfare. The four-way contest in Pune is a preview of a political order in which everyone runs, but no one quite leads.

Bad Roads, Ugly Politics


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The pathetic state of roads in Mumbai city as well as its suburbs has made daily commute a dangerous affair. The residents are miffed with the BMC over its lackadaisical attitude. Mumbaikars tweet photos, post videos to grab attention, but everything is in vain. Who cares for the common people. Backbreaking journeys have become part and parcel of life. Political leaders are busy mud-slinging.


This year the monsoon took a break after almost four and half months. During this time some of the roads virtually became non commutable. It may be recalled that the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde first announced to make Mumbai roads pothole free.


Its almost two years now the BMC has concretised only 9 percent of roads it planned to concretise. This decision was taken when it came to light that due to the properties of bitumen in asphalt roads, potholes are a regular occurrence due to contact with water during monsoons.


Hence, to solve the problem of potholes, the corporation has adopted a policy of cement concreting of 6-meter-wide roads in phases. The decision was taken but the dilly-dallying affair made things more difficult.


Mumbai’s traffic does put a lot of strain on roads which is not the case in the other developed countries. Second most important aspect is concretisation of roads is done partly and in phases.


The worst problem which is faced is repeated digging for cables and drainage, which weakens the roads. Above all corruption in BMC makes matters worse as a result everything comes to grinding halt.


According to experts, repairing potholes is a reaction with symptomatic treatment. By and large we are dispensing superficial treatment without addressing the root cause. The long-term solution will be to have roads with no potholes but what we need is the means and technology to achieve this. But for this political will is necessary which we lack on every step.


Mumbaikar’s are convience that corruption in the municipal corporation is the main reason. Contractors have had a monopoly over the last 20 years and this is the reason why reputed companies never come ahead for these projects.


As a result, in the name of attendance and repair, the BMC does shoddy work. Crores are spent but the end result is nothing. The BMC is not paying attention to the crust. If the crust is weak, potholes will see an increase. Without any thought or technical know-how, potholes are filled with cold mix.


This is the reason why the city and suburbs continue to have craters on the roads.


Craters, a serious threat to the safety and security of people. Mumbaikars fade up from their repeated visits to orthopedic surgeons.


They are in a mood to teach a proper lesson to those who were at the helm of the affairs.

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