The Shiv Sena gets more seats in the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, but the BJP emerges the winner in the civic elections in Maharashtra.
THE 2017 civic elections in Maharashtra were perhaps as closely watched and contested as an Assembly election. And with good reason. The drama that preceded the elections continued to the very end with the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former allies, almost neck and neck.
Of the 10 municipal corporations, 25 zilla parishads and 283 panchayat samitis that went to the polls, the most keenly followed was the election to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). The Sena and the BJP had together ruled the MCGM since 1997. It was the alliance that had kept them in power, and thus, when their disagreement over seat sharing resulted in a parting of ways, the elections suddenly became interesting. Essentially, the elections were about these two parties. The others were inconsequential in the power game. The Sena considers “owning” Mumbai a matter of its right, but the increasing cosmopolitan composition of the city with a more aware citizenry meant that the party did have a true fight on its hands. The BJP had the automatic boost that comes from being the party in power at the Centre.
It was widely agreed that these civic elections would have the effect of giving Maharashtra’s politics a new direction. In Mumbai, the Sena won 84 seats and the BJP 82. But in the larger political game, it is actually the BJP that has emerged as the winner. It has drastically improved on its 2012 tally of 31 seats in Mumbai. The Sena’s growth has been smaller: it won 71 seats in 2012.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
