Maha polarisation ahead of polls

Maharashtra has seen a series of communal incidents in recent weeks even as a campaign of communal polarisation is sweeping the state. They are connected and have to be seen in the context of the state’s unsettled politics and the compulsions of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the state Assembly elections. There were clashes in Kolhapur last week over some social media posts which were thought to have glorified Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. Many people were arrested and ban orders were issued. There was similar trouble in other towns like Beed, Akola, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon and Malad in Mumbai in the last few weeks. The reasons varied from the renaming of Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Shivaji Nagar to disputes over religious processions and rights of worship. But they have all seen violence and police responses in the form of arrests, ban orders, the blocking of internet and other measures. 

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There is apparently a link between these incidents and the political situation in the state. After the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government last year and the coming to power of the BJP in partnership with the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, the politics in the state is in a flux. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Sena has strong political traction even after it lost power. The government has suffered some setbacks, and there have been signs of new political equations, though there is no clarity about them. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar, has also seen changes. There is a strong competition for the ‘Hindutva vote’, with the two Shiv Sena factions and the BJP in the race for it. In the last six months, a new front called Sakal Hindu Samaj and many Hindutva bodies have held morchas and rallies highlighting Hindutva issues. The communal incidents in the state have to be seen in this background.

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The elections to be held in the state in the near future are crucial for all parties. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, expected to be held later this year, are especially important for the Shiv Sena factions. They will be followed by next year’s Lok Sabha elections and the state elections. The communal clashes and the attempts at polarisation are to be seen as part of the election campaign which has started now. It should be noted that BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis used the words “Aurangzeb ke aulad”, obviously referring to members of the minority community after the Kolhapur violence. This was most inappropriate, coming from the state’s Deputy Chief Minister. It will likely set the trend for the political discourse in the coming months, and that’s dangerous.