Fadnavis 'Thank Raj' Jab After Thackeray 'Cousins Reunite' & Share Stage After 20 Years
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Business Standard
28 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Sena (UBT) demands 20% reservation for 'Marathi Manoos' in Mumbai buildings
Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve and Milind Narvekar gave a letter with this demand to minister Shambhuraj Desai, who belongs to the rival Shiv Sena Press Trust of India Mumbai The Shiv Sena (UBT) lawmakers on Friday demanded that 20 per cent houses in buildings in Mumbai be reserved for native Marathi speakers. Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve and Milind Narvekar gave a letter with this demand to minister Shambhuraj Desai, who belongs to the rival Shiv Sena. "We demand 20 per cent of houses in buildings in Mumbai for Marathi Manoos," Nareveak said in a post on X. On Thursday, Narvekar had asked in the legislative council whether a social organisation had demanded that 50 per cent housing units in the city be reserved for the Marathi people, and if the government had taken any decision on it. In a written reply, deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is also the Housing Minister, said his department had not received any such letter. Replying on behalf of Shinde, Mines Minister Shambhuraj Desai had said when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was in power during 2019-2022, it did not bring in any such law. "You did not do it, and this has come on record. Your love for Marathi Manoos is fake and hollow," Desai had said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
RSS chief Bhagwat draws the line at 75. India's politics stares at the Modi Exception
I anticipate an immediate questioning of this from those who follow national politics closely. They can indeed remind me of my own two-part conversation with then RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan in 2005, where he asked Atal Bihari Vajpayee (80) and L.K. Advani (77) to move on and let younger people take over. He had also attacked Vajpayee's son-in-law, close associate Brajesh Mishra and his style of working. His response became even more vehement when I reminded him that Vajpayee had dismissed rumours of his retirement with that famous line: 'na tired, na retired.' This caution is needed because in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and particularly the BJP-RSS relations, there will always be the Modi exception. To think that this is a nudge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step down as he turns 75 on 17 September this year, six days after Bhagwat, will be reading too much into it. However, a Sarsanghachalak is never to be taken lightly. In this case, Bhagwat broke from a speech in Marathi to speak just these, retirement-at-75 lines in Hindi. No slip of the tongue, or scope for misinterpretation there. Please do not fall into the trap of the usual cliches like 'setting the cat among the pigeons' over the statement by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief (Sarsanghachalak) Mohan Bhagwat that once they attain the age of 75, leaders should think of retiring and yield to younger colleagues. Since the Vajpayee-Advani duo was still very much in control of the BJP and widely respected as its founders, and also because there was no ready claimant for their places at that point, Sudarshan drew immediate criticism, though only in whispers. It was insinuated that his ageing mind was fading. The reality was different. From the BJP/RSS point of view, if he could be faulted, it was only for his timing. It was too soon after the party's defeat in the general election the previous year and the party didn't need a succession struggle right then. In substance, he knew what he was doing, and was vindicated in the course of time. With his words, the die was cast. An entire line of likely successors had begun to emerge. Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari and, most notably, Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad. In a way, he had set up an American primaries-style leadership contest within the BJP. Modi won it by the time he swept his third state election in 2012. Also Read: Abki baar 75 paar—Modi isn't going anywhere & the Opposition is all out of ideas Whether or not you like the BJP/RSS, you have to concede that they are the force with the most robust and meritocratic HR system in Indian politics. Through decades, they have produced successive generations of leaders with the shakha system. It's a digression but a significant point—that of all the parties in India's political history, the BJP has had the least defections or splits. The ideological glue mostly keeps them all in the same tent, even the disgruntled. A few significant ones who left, returned, like Kalyan Singh and Yediyurappa. Others, Shankersinh Vaghela, Balraj Madhok, all faded into irrelevance. In the same decades, the Congress has had so many splits that it seemed sometimes the entire alphabet might not be enough to find letters as suffixes for all its breakaway parties. Janata Party, Socialists, or what used to be the Lok Dal, all went the same way. Not the BJP. You can't show me a hyphenated offshoot. The BJP also had no dynastic succession, at least at the top. There are many offsprings of illustrious founders and elders in key positions in the party now, but the succession was never straightforward. It was more like 'accommodating' somebody's child than a power transfer. You can trace it back to the Vajpayee-Advani era. They chose very young chief ministers: Vasundhara Raje, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh, Narendra Modi—averaging 49 years. This spotting and empowering younger talent is even more striking with the choice of the BJP presidents. In 2002, Venkaiah Naidu became president at 53. Rajnath Singh became president at 54 first in 2005, Nitin Gadkari at 48 in 2009 and Amit Shah at just 49 in 2014. In contrast, through this period, Sonia Gandhi remained the Congress president, until Mallikarjun Kharge moved in after a Rahul Gandhi interregnum, sprightly still, but 80. Meanwhile, so much of the Congress party's young talent has withered away. Some have joined the BJP in frustration, the others carry on in the party even more frustrated. We make too much of ideological differences between the two parties. We ought to be paying more attention to their respective HR practices. Also Read: Bhagwat blows the whistle on mandir-masjid frenzy. Asks if a crow can sit atop a temple & become an eagle This principle has been followed even post-2014. J.P. Nadda took over as the party president at 59. The new chief ministers, Yogi Adityanath (U.P.), Bhajan Lal Sharma (Rajasthan), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), Vishnu Deo Sai, Mohan Charan Majhi, Biplab Deb and Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam, though a Congress original), Manohar Lal Khattar, Devendra Fadnavis, Pramod Sawant, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Rekha Gupta, the 12 of them, averaged 51 when sworn in. The Congress has inducted some younger talent in Telangana and Himachal, but in its most important state, Karnataka, it is stuck with a non-performing golden oldie in Siddaramaiah. A most notable fact is that the ideological guru of the BJP is living up to its own counsel. The oldest age up to which a Sarsanghachalak has served is 78: Sudarshan (2009), (Rajendra Singh or Rajju Bhaiyya, in 2000), Madhukar Dattatraya 'Balasaheb' Deoras, (1994). From the founder group, K.B. Hedgewar and M.S. Golwalkar died young in harness, at 51 and 67 in 1940 and 1973 respectively. All the Sarsanghachalaks rose to the top young and had long tenures. As the current one. The fact is, despite the rumours and whispers, nobody has mentioned any retire-at-75-rule within the BJP. It was only whispered as the justification to send Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and others to retirement in the Margdarshak Mandal (Group of Elders). At the same time some ministers continued including Kalraj Mishra and Najma Heptulla. These were subsequently sent out as governors. In the latest election, Hema Malini was fielded from Mathura though she had crossed 75, maybe to remind us that there is no '75-year-rule.' The only on-record reference we can find is Anandiben Patel explaining her resignation as Gujarat chief minister in 2016 because 'I have turned 75'. That will for sure be no precedent for Modi. September 11 will now be the date to watch. That's when Bhagwat turns 75. If he decides to follow his own counsel and retire, there will at least be 'talk' about Modi in the BJP corridors. Will there be a challenge? No. Will anybody dare to seek a process of post-2009 style 'primaries'? It isn't impossible, but most unlikely. But, as the calendar runs up to late 2028, some among the more ambitious in BJP might feel impatient. Nobody would dare to even whimper, forget making a claim. Modi now has the power and pre-eminence in the BJP-RSS to choose how long he wants to serve and he is definitely going to want to contest in 2029. He will only be 79, as old as Donald Trump now, and fitter. The others will have to wait for the decision or cue from him, even as some silent, subterranean 'primaries' might have begun within the BJP. Also Read: 3-point formula for sweeping elections. Trump has it, Modi had it, Rahul still searching
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Thackeray cousins repackage politics of old, but can chemistry trump arithmetic?
As former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray walked onto a stage in Mumbai's Worli last week and embraced his estranged cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj, a loud cheer went up. The Thackeray brothers sat side by side after a gap of 20 years to celebrate the BJP-led Mahayuti government scrapping the move to introduce Hindi as a third language in primary schools, with everyone wondering how this turn of events will shape state politics. Uddhav made no secret of their intention. Nudged by the Supreme Court, the elections to the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) — it has a budget larger than that of several states — and other local bodies will be held in the coming months. And the cousins are resolute about capturing them. In a sarcastic dig, Raj Thackeray thanked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for making possible what Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, his uncle and Uddhav's father, could not achieve: bring the cousins together. The government first made Hindi a compulsory third language in Classes 1-5 in state schools, and as the Thackerays took up the issue of 'Hindi imposition', Fadnavis moved with alacrity. The government made Hindi an optional third language, and then withdrew the directives altogether. The MNS chief, known for his oratory, organisational skills, and seen as Bal Thackeray's natural successor, had walked out of the Shiv Sena in 2005 after the party patriarch chose Uddhav over him. He formed his party the following year, but it turned out to be more of a spoiler than anything else. Even as Raj drew crowds at his meetings, he did not mop up votes and was down to a vote share of just over 1% in the Assembly elections last year. Uddhav's woes have also grown after the BJP split the Shiv Sena in 2022, costing him the CM chair. In the Assembly polls, he was down to 20 seats (out of 288) and only 9.98% of the popular vote. So, the brothers had little to lose and everything to gain, and they buried their differences to come together. What happens next will depend on whether chemistry can trump arithmetic. The chemistry they generate will depend on their ability to hang together, though Uddhav said at the 'victory rally' they had 'come together to stay together'. The Shiv Sainiks present at the NSCI Dome in Worli applauded after every other sentence Raj and Uddhav uttered. But the real test will be the seat-sharing talks for the BMC polls. At present, there are three claimants for the leadership of the fragmented Sena. Besides the Thackerays, there is Deputy CM Eknath Shinde who is heading the Shiv Sena, the largest group with 51 MLAs, and will watch, hawk-like, every move the new jodi makes to dent his party's support base. Just as the cousins see the BMC as the route to power in Maharashtra, Fadnavis sees the BJP's bid to wrest control of the civic body from the Sena as a way to consolidate his hold on the state. Will the cousins now force the BJP to opt for alliances for the BMC elections, instead of going it alone as the ruling party had hoped for? The Raj and Uddhav reunion is a testament to the Congress's inability to set an agenda to counter an increasingly dominant BJP. No senior Congress leader was present at the Thackerays' rally. The party is apprehensive about the impact the duo may have on the non-Marathi-speaking vote base in the state (just more than 30%, though the Marathi-speaking population in Mumbai is only around 30% at present). There is also a weakening of Sharad Pawar as a pole in the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). While he was not present at the rally, his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule sat in the front row. The NCP (SP) working president was also seen getting Uddhav and Raj's sons Aaditya and Amit ready to be photographed with their arms around each other. The NCP (SP) may hope the Thackerays will provide a new pole around which the MVA can re-coalesce. This comes at a time when many in the Pawar camp want to join the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. The Deputy CM is not so keen on the idea, though he goes out of his way to do the 'work' of his former colleagues and keeps them in good humour. Beyond the immediate politics, the coming together of the cousins poses larger questions. Can this lead to a Marathi versus non-Marathi polarisation in the months to come, and a deepening of the Gujarati versus Marathi faultlines? The Thackeray cousins resisted the 'imposition' of Hindi to protect Marathi asmita (pride). But, the irony is that the actions of MNS workers on the ground — they assaulted a shop owner in Thane for not speaking in Marathi — show they are insisting on 'imposing' Marathi on all who live in the state. At the rally, Raj Thackeray, in the characteristic manner of the Sena of yesteryear, said there was 'no need to beat people if they don't speak Marathi, but if someone shows useless drama, you must hit below their eardrums'. Under Uddhav's stewardship, the Sena's image has softened. But this time, like his cousin, the usually mild Sena (UBT) chief struck a harsher note, saying, 'If we have to be goons to get justice, we will do goondagardi.' While people from outside a state should speak the local language, it should never be through coercion. The Maharashtra of 2025 is not the state it was in the 1960s, 70s or 80s, where the identity politics that the cousins are espousing worked. Mumbai, the country's financial capital, is rapidly growing, and so is Bollywood's outreach, spreading the influence of Hindi more effectively than anything else. The service sector in the city is also expanding quickly as aspirational entrepreneurs and migrants from different parts of the country seek its shores in search of opportunities, all requiring skills other than just the knowledge of Marathi. The coming together of Uddhav and Raj could have been a seminal moment in the Maharashtra story. They could have put out a new message in a new language for a new way forward, all the while keeping Marathi asmita as one of the elements in the vision. But it was more of the old. Even those who live in the state's hinterland now want to reach out to the world beyond them. On a visit to Nandurbar, a tribal-dominated district in north Maharashtra, I visited an interior village to look at a project. 'What if I were to tell you that I would convey to the PM what you really seek? But it has to be your dearest wish, not a string of wishes,' I asked a couple of hundred people who sat under the trees listening. Three women stood up, replying in unison, 'We want an English medium school here.' To them, the language was a doorway to opportunities they had not received so far. (Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of How Prime Ministers Decide)
