Mumbai: (Kamar Ansari)The internal rift within the Samajwadi Party in Maharashtra has now come out in the open. Maharashtra Samajwadi Party President Abu Asim Azmi, in an interview to a private YouTube channel, launched a scathing attack on party MLA from Bhiwandi, Rais Shaikh. Azmi claimed that he had “picked Rais Shaikh up from the footpath and made him an MLA on a Samajwadi Party seat,” but alleged that Shaikh has never worked for the welfare or strengthening of the party.

Abu Asim Azmi accused Rais Shaikh of continuously working against the Samajwadi Party and said that he should resign from the party on moral grounds. According to Azmi, Rais Shaikh personally conducted interviews of candidates for the Bhiwandi Municipal Corporation and Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections and played a key role in ticket distribution. He further alleged that Congress candidates were deliberately fielded against Samajwadi Party candidates in order to defeat them.

Azmi stated that when the party refused to give a ticket to Rais Shaikh’s brother, Shaikh, out of resentment, encouraged his supporters to contest elections on Congress tickets against Samajwadi Party candidates. He also accused Rais Shaikh of promoting dynastic politics, which the party strongly opposed, leading to the denial of tickets.

On the other hand, Rais Shaikh has so far failed to clearly explain where his political loyalties lie. While Congress candidates are reportedly contesting elections with his support, he has not formally resigned from the Samajwadi Party. Abu Asim Azmi said that Rais Shaikh’s “double-faced politics” would soon be exposed before the public. He also hinted at strict action against Shaikh after the municipal corporation elections.

Responding to the allegations, Rais Shaikh claimed that several political parties are using his photographs without his consent to mislead voters and gain electoral advantage. He maintained that he was not involved in any decision related to ticket distribution within the Samajwadi Party and that he had been sidelined by the party much earlier. According to Shaikh, the candidates contesting on Congress tickets have been given tickets by the Congress party itself, and he has no connection with those decisions.

Amid this political tug-of-war, Muslim voters associated with the Samajwadi Party find themselves in a state of confusion. They are unsure whether to support Congress candidates allegedly backed by Rais Shaikh or to vote for official Samajwadi Party candidates, as it remains unclear who is aligned with whom in this election.

Mumbai: Mumbai residents were greeted on Tuesday by what seemed like a picture-perfect winter morning, marked by clear blue skies, gentle winds and a noticeable drop in temperatures. The early hours offered a brief sense of relief and freshness, giving the impression of a crisp and comfortable day ahead. However, the calm did not last long, as a thick layer of smog soon settled over the city, sharply reducing visibility and once again exposing Mumbai’s escalating air pollution crisis.

Despite optimistic weather predictions from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), air quality quickly emerged as the city’s biggest concern. The IMD had forecast a bright and pleasant day, with temperatures expected to range between 18 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.

Overall AQI Slips To Severe Category

Data from air quality monitoring platform AQI.in revealed that Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) touched 319 during the early morning hours, placing it squarely in the ‘severe’ category. Vulnerable sections of the population, including children, the elderly and individuals suffering from respiratory or heart-related conditions, were advised to limit outdoor exposure.

The primary contributors to the persistent pollution continue to be dust and fine particulate matter released from the city’s extensive construction activity. Major infrastructure projects such as metro rail lines, flyovers, coastal road extensions and road-widening works are underway across Mumbai. Alongside these, rapid private real estate development has further added to the pollutant load. Vehicular emissions, especially during peak traffic hours, have compounded the problem, making air quality management increasingly challenging.

Several areas across Mumbai emerged as major pollution hotspots. Chembur recorded a dangerously high AQI of 398, categorised as ‘severe’ and posing serious health risks even for otherwise healthy individuals. Bandra followed with an AQI of 368, while the Wadala Truck Terminal stood at 358. Jogeshwari West and Santacruz both reported AQI levels of 346, also within the severe range.

While suburban regions showed relatively lower pollution levels, they were far from safe. Borivali East and Kandivali East recorded AQI readings of 227 and 230 respectively, falling under the ‘unhealthy’ category. Borivali West, Govandi and Goregaon East also reported poor air quality, highlighting the widespread nature of Mumbai’s pollution problem.

As per standard air quality classifications, AQI levels between 0 and 50 are considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘moderate’, 101 to 200 ‘poor’, 201 to 300 ‘unhealthy’, and levels above 300 fall under the ‘severe’ or ‘hazardous’ category.

Sadanand Date took over as DGP of Mumbai Maharashtra from his counterpart Rashmi Shukla. After the retirement of Rashmi Shukla, the state government had recommended the names of senior IPS officers including Date, after which Date was made a contender for the post of DGP. Sadanand Date has also rendered excellent service as the head of the National Security Agency NIA. He has played an important role in the investigation of the Delhi Red Fort bomb blast, Pahalgam attack and the extradition of the main accused of Mumbai attacks, Tahur Hussain Rana. In 92% of the cases registered by the NIA, the accused have been convicted. Date was first transferred to the Maharashtra cadre and then he was appointed as Rashmi Shukla’s successor today. Other issues including administration in Maharashtra are also a big challenge for Date. Date is skilled in his work. He has previously worked in many sensitive places. Date has also rendered good service as the head of Maharashtra ATS. Apart from this, he also had the honor of being elected the first Police Commissioner of Mira Bhayandar Commissionerate. Sadanand Date is considered an honest and dutiful officer. First, he met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and then took charge of his post. Date is a 1990 batch IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre.