Kartikey Sehgal

Background.

[Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra and the financial capital of India. In the 21^ST century, 50% (or more) of Mumbai's population lives on streets. Politics is very competitive. Currently, politicians are dividing people on linguistic lines for the sake of votes.

The hard-working Mumbai resident must do anything else but fall for political games, but he is frustrated with pathetic working conditions, filth, corruption and is ready to believe that his misery is the result of outsiders; people who come to live and work in Mumbai.

This story, however, concentrates on political games in Maharashtra.]

I had correctly said that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is using Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for political gains in Maharashtra.

[Raj is likely to be shielded by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Shiv Sena is a political partner of BJP and NCP could use MNS to fight them in the next elections.] Source

NCP is now hinting at support to MNS.

A senior leader from NCP said in a television interview that people must respect Marathi ethos and culture. It is not important for non-Marathis to learn the language but they must not disrespect local customs.

He was, however, not forthcoming on how local Marathi culture is being disrespected by people from other states.

“I am not saying learn the language. At least respect the language, sentiments and the culture of the state.” Source

NCP is trying to be different from Shiv Sena by stating that learning Marathi should not be cumpolsary for non-Marathi people. The party could use this distinction as a political advantage in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

If Raj becomes more popular in the coming weeks, then you may expect NCP to offer absolute political support to him. The current conundrum in Maharashtra is similar to the Jammu and Kashmir ‘land’ problem (here and here) where politicians divided people along religious lines to gain electoral support for the forthcoming elections. Political parties in Maharashtra are trying to gain Marathi votes by creating a sense of panic about ‘outsiders’ destroying Marathi culture.

The real issue is what MNS terms as ‘inadequate representation’ to locals in jobs in Maharashtra. They claim that they are upset about North Indians coming to Mumbai to apply for jobs. The issue surely has nothing to do with any culture or language being disrespected.

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Is NCP controlling MNS? Considering how Raj Thackeray, with his little experience in politics, is being drawn into political discussions and  interviews, it is hard to believe that political players see no potential in him.

Why else would they not want Raj behind bars? Perhaps NCP is gauging his popularity among the masses. They may like to offer him political support before he is jailed; A jailed Raj could become a hero and his political gain could be used by NCP in the next polls against Congress and BJP.

Congress may not like to see Raj in jail after reading NCP’s favourable stance towards MNS. If Raj’s clout increases then they may offer lucrative posts to NCP and win them over. Raj would then be left without an ally.

Therefore, it’s possible that NCP is controlling MNS.

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Kartikey Sehgal

Journalists from Hindi and Marathi newspapers told me that Raj Thackeray would be a good change for politics in Maharashtra. According to them, Raj never had problems with youngsters canoodling in beaches and parks. He planned to send his party men to the streets on February 14 to ensure safety for couples in love. He had also decided to protect shops selling Valentine cards and other ‘love’ merchandise irrespective of the owner’s religion or language. Raj wanted Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to serve as an antidote to the partisan politics of Shiv Sena and thereby muster support of the people.

He changed. Today, Raj is trying to be more prejudiced than Shiv Sena. I have not met those buoyant journalists to ask them about the recent changes in MNS politics. Raj is fighting court battles. His men are destroying vehicles and buses and trains. They are attacking aspirant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Raj’s change of heart (and ideals) may have to do with fear of living up to his progressive plans. Let us see why he may not go to prison.

Raj is likely to be shielded by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Shiv Sena is a political partner of BJP and NCP could use MNS to fight them in the next elections. Together, they could also challenge the Congress party unless Raj is vehemently hated by the people.

Therefore, it is unlikely that NCP would want Raj to go to jail. They might even oppose any plans to ban the MNS. Congress is also not very keen to punish Raj. Any success of Raj would mean a lump in the fortunes of Shiv Sena-BJP. Congress would find it easier to tackle NCP-MNS than any other political alliance.

I wonder what those journalists have to say about Raj Thackerey. They should be disappointed in writing about the violence of MNS workers. Hopefully they have not lost a family member in the violence. They may rue the missed ‘good change’ that they had talked about. 

Raj Thackeray arrested by police for instigating violence and muder

Image: The Hindu

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