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Maharashtra

Likely pitfalls that could derail the Shinde-Fadnavis combination

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3 years ago

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After hijacking the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) 3-party �auto-rickshaw, new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde converted it into a �two-wheeler with an over zealous pillion-rider in Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Over 3 weeks after they were sworn-in, instead of zooming off, the government is still �parked’ on the road, but is busy clearing the route ahead by yanking off the MVA’s decisions, policies, schemes and projects.

Relegated to the pavement, the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress looked on gleefully as Fadnavis once snatched the microphone as a startled Shinde cast a brief bewildered stare at the audacity.

Many in the Opposition are wondering aloud �how soon’ before the Bharatiya Janata Party heavyweight Fadnavis grabs the reins of power to jump into the driving seat sidelining the ex-autorickshaw driver Shinde.

The challenges before the new regime are both daring and daunting, starting with the much-awaited Cabinet expansion, amid a storm raised by Shinde’s 40-strong band of restless rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.

Then, the Independents or fringes like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to ensure a �Thackeray’ on board and the frightful prospects of humouring the BJP legislators, with many bigwigs ready to draw first blood at the first slight.

All these would test the best of Shinde’s balancing skills and Fadnavis’ claimed �Chanakya-esque’ mastery to ensure a turbulence-free ride for the new regime.

Among the secret worries are whether the Brobdingnagian BJP with 106 MLAs looking down, would try to grab the cake and leave only crumbs for the rebels, with at least 20 prime portfolios up for grabs and coveted by all.

The next concern for the breakaway group would be the Supreme Court verdict which could make or break the new government, with both sides of the Shiv Sena proclaiming they are the �real’ party.

While winning the trust vote in the House was easy, the next formidable challenge for Shinde would be to win the confidence of the masses and establish his own credibility — a dismaying proposition as many in the past, like Raj Thackeray of the MNS, and others who revolted in different parties all over India have experienced.

A major battle – legal and political – waiting to erupt between the Thackeray and Shinde sides, is over who will ‘conquer’ the Shiv Sena Bhavan (the party headquarters), bag its �Tiger’ logo, the iconic Bow and Arrow election symbol, the well oiled 56-year-old party apparatus, and most important, convincingly delink it from the magical Thackeray surname�

Shinde would have to prove his supremacy over the Thackeray side in the upcoming civic body elections but hurdles are already cropping up with a section of his group reportedly against allying with the BJP.

Retaining the CM’s traditional stronghold of Thane may be a cakewalk, but dislodging the MVA hold over many other civic bodies like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nanded, etc could pose problems, with or without the BJP’s overbearing shadow.

Top MVA leaders like Thackeray, Sanjay Raut (Sena), Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar (NCP), Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat (Congress), have already predicted that the �E.D.’ (Eknath-Devendra) government could fall on its own and the state would be pushed to a mid-term election in a few months.

After Shinde-Fadnavis clear these teething hurdles, they have a table-full of major governance issues like the OBC quotas, handling Covid better than the MVA did, and fast-track or complete several big ticket ongoing projects, estimated to cost over Rs 5 lakh crores.

They are the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Expressway, the Borivali-Thane Tunnel, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, the Mumbai Coastal Road, the southern and northern extension to the Worli-Bandra Sea Link, the Navi Mumbai International Airport, and more than 375-kms of Metro Rail spanning the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Other mega projects are the Pune Ring Road, Marathwada Water Grid, the Jalna-Nanded corridor linking the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Expressway, augmenting the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, kickstarting the Konkan Expressway, the Sagari (coastal) Highway, Palghar-Raigad Multimodal corridor, and the long pending Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in the Arabian Sea and the Dr B. R. Ambedkar Memorial in Dadar.

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Maharashtra

Ruckus in the assembly over controversial statement on Marathi language

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3 hours ago

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March 6, 2025

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Mumbai: There was a lot of ruckus in the Maharashtra Assembly today over the controversial statement of RSS leader Bhaiyaji Joshi, after which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to clarify the government’s stand on this. There was a ruckus in the Maharashtra Assembly session when senior RSS leader Bhaiyaji Joshi, while saying that Marathi is not compulsory at a program organized in suburban Ghatkopar area of ​​Mumbai, said that many languages ​​are spoken in Mumbai and Mumbai is multilingual, so there is no need to learn Marathi. Gujarati is spoken in Ghatkopar and many languages ​​are spoken here. The opposition has sought clarification from the government on this issue. UBT leader Bhaskar Jadhav asked the government’s stand on this issue.

On this, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that I have not heard Bhaiyaji Joshi’s statement. Marathi is the official language of the Maharashtra government. It is mandatory for every resident of Maharashtra to learn Marathi. The Maharashtra government once again wants to explain that government work will be done in Marathi and hence it is also necessary to speak in Marathi. He said that we respect all languages, but Marathi is the language of Maharashtra. Bhaiyaji Joshi had said in Ghatkopar that there are many Gujarati speakers here and most of them are also unfamiliar with Hindi, so there is no need to speak or learn Marathi here because many languages ​​are spoken in Mumbai.

Uddhav Thackeray has also criticized the government over Bhaiyaji Joshi’s controversial statement on Marathi and said that the government should clarify its stand on this, because Bhaiyaji Joshi has created a controversy by coming here, whereas Marathi is the language of Maharashtra and any kind of misbehavior with Marathi will not be tolerated.

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Maharashtra

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi Arrives In Mumbai’s Dharavi, Meets Leather Industry Workers

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3 hours ago

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March 6, 2025

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Mumbai: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a one-day private visit to India’s financial capital, Mumbai, reached Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi on Thursday afternoon. He was accompanied by local leaders and MP Varsha Gaikwad.

Here, Gandhi spoke to the labourers and small and medium entrepreneurs from the leather industry in an attempt to understand the challenges faced by leather workers. He also visited the famous Brand Chamar studio in Dharavi.

The Congress leader has constantly opposed the Adani group of bagging key projects and alleged the ruling BJP of favoring the conglomerate. Earlier in the day Gandhi was welcomed by Congress leaders of the state including Varsha Gaikwad, Satej Pail, Bhai Jagtap and Vijay Wadettiwar. 

Dharavi Redevelopment Project 

In November 2022, the Adani group emerged as the highest bidder (INR 5,069) to win the auction for the Dharavi redevelopment project.

The Dharavi redevelopment project is a joint venture between the Adani group and the state government. There are around 850,000 residents in the Dharavi area. The redevelopment area is around 600 acres.


Opposition Alleges Scam 

Congress MP and former MLA from Dharavi Varsha Gaikwad has been vocal against her views against the Adani group bagging the project. 

The lawmaker has accused the state government of orchestrating a major scam with the Dharavi Development Project and has alleged that the contract was designed to benefit industrialist Gautam Adani. 

Dividing Views In Opposition 

On one hand, the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) opposed the Dharavi redevelopment project on the other NCP (SCP), Patraich Sharad Pawar had said speaking to a digital news channel that “The Dharavi issue is not at all there.”

Dharavi- A Congress Bastion

Dharavi has been a Congres bastion since 1999. In the 2024 election Jyoti Gaykwad won from the seat after her sister Varsha Gaikwad who vacated the seat after wining Lok Sabha Elections from the Mumbai North Central seat. Earlier the seat was held by her father Eknath Gaikwad.

Rahul Gandhi will be leaving from Mumbai for Ahmedabad on Friday morning. 

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Maharashtra

‘RSS Leader Should Be Charged With Sedition’: Uddhav Thackeray On Bhaiyaji Joshi’s ‘Marathi Not Necessary To Live In Mumbai’ Remark

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3 hours ago

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March 6, 2025

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Mumbai: The controversy over Marathi language in Mumbai has intensified with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray demanding a sedition case against RSS leader Bhaiyaji Joshi for his “Marathi not necessary to live in Mumbai” remark.

Speaking to media outside Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha in Mumbai, Uddhav Thackeray said, Joshi’s statement reveals BJP and RSS’ hidden agenda. He demanded a sedition case be filed against the RSS leader.

“Just as the Chief Minister said in the Legislative Council that Kortkar is a petty man, he should also say that Bhaiyyaji Joshi is a petty man. A case of sedition should be filed against Bhaiyyaji Joshi,” he said.

Earlier today, responding to the RSS leader’s statement, MLA Aaditya Thackeray stated, “Whether it’s Maharashtra’s language or Mumbai’s language, it is Marathi. Many people come to our state from different regions, settle here, and bring their dreams with them. They contribute, they grow, and everyone is welcome. But the language of this land, of Mumbai, of Maharashtra, is Marathi. Just as Tamil is the language of Tamil Nadu and Kannada is the language of Karnataka, I want to emphasize that Marathi is the language of Maharashtra…”

Meanwhile, after facing flak from INDIA bloc leaders, Bhaiyaji Joshi took a u-turn from his previous statement and said, “Marathi is Mumbai’s language, those coming from outside and speaking other languages should understand it.”

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has responded to the RSS leader’s remark in the state Assembly and made it clear that “Marathi is the language of Mumbai, Maharashtra and the state government.”

“The Marathi language is a part of the culture and identity of the state, and it should be the duty of every citizen to learn it. The Marathi language will be respected and preserved in Maharashtra, and it is an integral part of our cultural heritage,” Maharashtra CM said.

The controversy over Marathi language ignited from RSS leader Bhaiyaji Joshi’s remark made in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar.

Addressing an event, RSS leader said,, “Mumbai doesn’t have a single language. Each part of Mumbai has a different language. The Ghatkopar area’s language is Gujarati. So if you are residing in Mumbai, it is not necessary that you have to learn Marathi.”

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