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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 9:20:26 am

Thousands turn out to welcome ‘Madhuri’ home

Kolhapur: After 409 days away from home, Madhuri, the elephant belonging to the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Sansthan Math at Nandani in Shirol taluka, finally returned to the monastery on Friday night, bringing an outpouring of emotion among residents of Nandani and neighbouring areas. Thousands of people from across communities gathered to receive the elephant, with many visibly moved to tears. The return of Madhuri, also known as Mahadevi, followed a 1,160-km journey from...

Thousands turn out to welcome ‘Madhuri’ home

Kolhapur: After 409 days away from home, Madhuri, the elephant belonging to the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Sansthan Math at Nandani in Shirol taluka, finally returned to the monastery on Friday night, bringing an outpouring of emotion among residents of Nandani and neighbouring areas. Thousands of people from across communities gathered to receive the elephant, with many visibly moved to tears. The return of Madhuri, also known as Mahadevi, followed a 1,160-km journey from Vantara’s elephant rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat. She was transported in a specially equipped animal ambulance that left Jamnagar at 7.17 pm on Thursday. Accompanied by the Vantara team and a medical crew, the convoy travelled through Vadodara, Surat, Vapi, Navsari, Vasai, Virar, Thane, Pune, Satara and Karad before reaching Nandani after nearly 32 hours. At Gandhi Chowk in Nandani, thousands waited for her arrival. Drums and traditional dhol-tasha beats, flower showers and chants filled the streets as the convoy passed through the town. People lined both sides of the road merely to catch a glimpse of Madhuri. The celebrations also briefly affected traffic on the Pune-Bengaluru highway. Former MP Raju Shetti was among those who welcomed her, while MLAs Rajendra Patil-Yadravkar and Rahul Awade, Datt Group chairman Ganpatrao Patil, and former MLAs Ulhas Patil and Prakash Awade were also present. A specially prepared floral and fruit arrangement awaited Madhuri near her newly created residence. Banana bunches, papaya, beetroot, apples, oranges, sweet lime, sugarcane, watermelon, pomegranate, pineapple and other fruits were arranged along the route. Citizens also distributed sugar and jaggery and decorated the approach roads with colourful rangolis. The final arrival at the monastery was an emotional moment. Madhuri was brought down from the transport vehicle and entered her newly constructed accommodation amid religious rituals and chants. The monastery’s religious heads, including Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami, Swastishri Dharmasen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami and Swastishri Laxmisen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami, formally welcomed her. Vantara Routine Madhuri was among 376 elephants housed at Vantara’s rehabilitation centre in Gujarat. Two mahouts were assigned to her care. Her daily routine included feeding in the morning, a walk, food and fruits, cleaning and time in the swimming tank. She was given wet and dry fodder and water during the day, followed by another walk in the evening and fruits and fodder at night. A veterinary team regularly monitored her health. ‘Kolhapur has made it happen’ The return follows a prolonged legal and public campaign. After a High Court order resulted in Madhuri being shifted to Vantara, the Nandani Math approached the Supreme Court. The campaign subsequently received support from people across communities, while Shetti led a major public mobilisation. The eventual return of Madhuri has been described by supporters as the result of sustained efforts by the Nandani Math, citizens of Kolhapur and neighbouring districts, and the wider public response across Maharashtra and beyond. Strict Conditions The permission for Madhuri’s return was granted following approval by the high-powered committee. Under the conditions, she will not be made to perform any work. She will receive round-the-clock care and undergo a health examination every 15 days. Vantara’s veterinary department will assist with medical examinations and treatment whenever required. A 40-member Vantara team reached Nandani on Friday to assist with her care and ensure a smooth transition. More than 27 police officers, over 100 police personnel and more than 70 home guards were deployed to maintain law and order during the homecoming.

Clever seat selection helped BJP to secure historic win

Writer: Ruddhi Phadke
Ruddhi Phadke
Nov 29, 2024
2 min read

The party won 65 seats against Congress, 37 against NCP (SP) and 29 against Shiv Sena (UBT)

Clever seat selection

Mumbai: The BJP’s strategic seat sharing with the allies has proved beneficial for the party. An analysis of the Assembly election results show that the BJP has scored over its main rival, the Congress, in a big way because of the direct fights.


The analysis shows that BJP defeated all three constituents of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – in the direct fights. This is attributed as one of the reasons for the BJP’s historic poll success.


The BJP contested 147 out of 288 seats. In 76 constituencies, it faced Congress. BJP secured victory in 65 seats and lost only 11 seats, making it a whopping 86 per cent of the total direct fights. This was followed by an even stronger performance against NCP (SP). Of the total 39 fights with Sharad Pawar’s party, BJP captured 37 seats making it 95 per cent of the total fights with NCP (SP). BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) were head-to-head in 32 constituencies, of which BJP emerged victorious in 29 seats, making this 91 per cent of the total direct contests.


According to a BJP strategist the party had bargained hard with its allies, Shiv Sena and NCP to get the desired constituencies in the seat sharing formula. “We had studied to potential candidates of the MVA. That helped us in choosing the seats where we can register comfortable victories,” the strategist said.


BJP spokesperson Niranjan Shetty attributed the success to all the party workers who worked hard to boost development, infrastructure in the state. He gave credit to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his contribution to the party’s success.


Shetty pointed out that in 2019, Uddhav Thackeray had stalled all the “novel” and “legendary” projects that Fadnavis had started when he had taken over as CM, making it very easy for the people of Maharashtra to strike a comparison between both the leaders and the potential they had for serving the people. “Devendra Fadnavis gave up his post very easily for the larger good. There are many such examples like Venkaiah Naidu who was BJP National President and later worked as the Vice President of India because that was the need of the hour. We seldom care about our posts,” Shetty told The Perfect Voice.


Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe refused to call the election results as the people’s mandate. “This is not at all a Janata mandate. Despite Maharashtra struggling with so many basic social issues, how can BJP acquire such a huge mandate is the question. If a student copies and fails with just passing marks, it can go unnoticed, but if a student copies and bags the number one position, something is fishy. Why is the BJP scared of ballot papers?” he said.

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