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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

FDA braces for Tukaram Mundhe’s strong dose

Mumbai: An unyielding and upright IAS officer Tukaram Haribhau Mundhe was awarded with his 25th transfer order in 21 years’ service – as the new Commissioner of Food & Drug Administration. The latest shunting comes barely a couple of months after his last assignment, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation, which was stayed before he could take charge. Mundhe, 50, holds the current ‘national record’ for being an IAS officer who has suffered maximum transfers;...

FDA braces for Tukaram Mundhe’s strong dose

Mumbai: An unyielding and upright IAS officer Tukaram Haribhau Mundhe was awarded with his 25th transfer order in 21 years’ service – as the new Commissioner of Food & Drug Administration. The latest shunting comes barely a couple of months after his last assignment, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation, which was stayed before he could take charge. Mundhe, 50, holds the current ‘national record’ for being an IAS officer who has suffered maximum transfers; prior to him were two retired Haryana IAS officers holding a similar honour. In an era when public confidence in institutions is wavering, examples of uncompromising and righteous officers like Mundhe shine bright and endear themselves to the masses. Humble Family Born into a humble farmer family of Beed, Mundhe’s childhood was bereft of luxuries and had to struggle even for bare necessities for which he disciplined himself, toiled and never faltered – strong qualities that help him stand ramrod straight even today. A bright kid, Mundhe helped his parents in the scorching fields during the day and spent hours at night poring over books under the dim light of kerosene lamps, completed his schooling with distinction, plus earned his graduate and post-graduate degrees from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad. With a burning desire to work for the welfare of the masses and society in general, Mundhe appeared for the UPSC exams and finally cleared his IAS in 2005 to enter public service. As he plunged himself headlong to wield the power of his position for public benefit, he quickly became a villain in the eyes of many vested elements, including politicians of different hues. No-nonsense Boss Mundhe proved to be an inflexible no-nonsense boss, abhorred indiscipline, a stickler for rules, curbed malpractices, public-centric result-oriented – making him the darling of the masses and in constant media glare. From his early years, he paid the price for his integrity, nature and working style. As per regulations, officers at certain levels are expected to serve for minimum three years in any post, but the much-feared Mundhe worked for barely a month in some of his postings, and hardly a few where he served for a year or more. Over the years, the people who watched Mundhe and the antics of his opponents, saluted him with many labels – ‘Singham’, ‘Youth Icon’, ‘Fearless Officer’, ‘Peoples Hero’, etc. Till May 26, in his 21-year long career, Mundhe has 25 transfer orders under his belt, ostensibly for refusing to bend rules or bending before the powers-that-be, irrespective of any political group or party in power. What most would consider a punishment transfer, Mundhe grabbed it headlong, not only challenging the system but infusing fresh challenges in the assignment, converting it into a ‘hot seat’, setting new standards which the next incumbent was forced to follow or fall out. For instance, after his appointment as Solapur Collector (November 2014), Mundhe cracked the whip on illegal mining operations and became a serious target of the powerful sand mafia there, but he was undeterred. In his 8-month long but eventful tenure as Nagpur Municipal Commissioner, Mundhe launched a transparency drive, overturned entrenched administrative practices that had evaded scrutiny, dared to question unsanctioned expenditures from the civic body’s coffers and many came under the radar. However, he was shunted to Mumbai in a fresh assignment before there were casualties. Lasting Impact Probably, the most striking aspect of Mundhe’s bureaucratic journey is that in every posting, he managed to leave a lasting impact and set new benchmarks. As in Solapur, he contributed to making at least 7 municipal bodies defecation-free in a tenure of barely 18 months (Nov. 2014-May 2016). A retired civil servant described Mundhe as “a champion of citizen-centric governance, ensured that the administration connected to the last man, treated his work not with authority but as a responsibility and worked not merely efficiently but empathy for the masses – who adored him”. Shattering traditions even at home In April 2026, while on election duty in West Bengal, Tukaram Mundhe learnt that his mother Asarabai breathed her last at 90 in Pune. He rushed back for the last rites held in his native village, Tadsona in Beed district. Breaking conventions, Mundhe and his brother skipped all the traditional rituals, and instead of immersing her residue in a holy river, they planted a Banyan sapling on her ashes as a dual tribute to her and the environment.

Clever seat selection helped BJP to secure historic win

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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