Latest news with #Marathi-speaking
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Maharashtra govt rejigs committee to resolve border dispute with Karnataka
The Maharashtra government has reconstituted the high-powered committee to resolve the state's border dispute with neighbouring Karnataka. According to a government resolution (GR) issued on Thursday, the committee, headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, was reconstituted because crucial decisions regarding the border dispute need to be taken with consensus by a non-partisan and representative body. From time to time, the committee has been reconstituted as new governments took office. A similar exercise had been carried out on November 22, 2022, months after the then Mahayuti alliance took charge with Eknath Shinde as the chief minister. The committee has now been reconstituted following the formation of the new government, with Fadnavis as the CM, after last year's assembly polls. Fadnavis heads the 18-member committee, which also includes his deputies Shinde and Ajit Pawar and former CMs Narayan Rane, Sharad Pawar and Prithviraj Chavan. NCP (SP) MLAs Rohit Patil and Jayant Patil, ministers Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraj Desai, Prakash Abitkar, Suresh Khade, BJP legislators Sudhir Gadgil, Sachin Kalyan Shetty, leaders of opposition in the legislative assembly and council are among the other members of the committee. The Maharashtra assembly currently does not have a leader of opposition. Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress legislators do not figure in the high-powered committee. The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra sought to include Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages that are currently in Karnataka. Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.
The Hindu
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Maharashtra govt reconstitutes committee to resolve border dispute with Karnataka
The Maharashtra government has reconstituted the high-powered committee to resolve the State's border dispute with neighbouring Karnataka. According to a government resolution (GR) issued on Thursday (June 19, 2025), the committee, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, was reconstituted because crucial decisions regarding the border dispute need to be taken with consensus by a non-partisan and representative body. From time to time, the committee has been reconstituted as new governments took office. A similar exercise had been carried out on November 22, 2022, months after the then Mahayuti alliance took charge with Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister. The committee has now been reconstituted following the formation of the new government, with Mr. Fadnavis as the CM, after last year's assembly polls. Mr. Fadnavis heads the 18-member committee, which also includes his deputies Mr. Shinde and Ajit Pawar and former CMs Narayan Rane, Sharad Pawar and Prithviraj Chavan. NCP (SP) MLAs Rohit Patil and Jayant Patil, Ministers Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraj Desai, Prakash Abitkar, Suresh Khade, BJP legislators Sudhir Gadgil, Sachin Kalyan Shetty, leaders of opposition in the legislative assembly and council are among the other members of the committee. The Maharashtra assembly currently does not have a leader of opposition. Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress legislators do not figure in the high-powered committee. The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra sought to include Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages that are currently in Karnataka. Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Maharashtra reconstitutes high-powered committee on border row with Karnataka
Mumbai: The state govt on Thursday reconstituted the high-powered committee to resolve the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is the chairperson of the new committee. The committee includes deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde. NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, BJP MP Narayan Rane, former CM Prithviraj Chavan, ministers Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraje Desai, Prakash Abitkar, legislators Rohit R Patil, Jayant Patil, Ambadas Danve, and Rajesh Kshirsagar, who heads the state planning commission, among others, are part of the committee. The first high-powered committee was set up on May 26, 2014. It was reconstituted on May 2, 2020, under the leadership of then CM Uddhav Thackeray and again reconstituted on June 30, 2022. It was once more reconstituted in November 2022 after Shinde took over as CM. The border dispute is as old as the reorganisation of states. It pertains to an area of 7,000 km along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, with 814 villages. The dispute, ongoing since 1956, revolves around 865 villages in three districts of Karnataka near the border, which have a substantial Marathi-speaking population. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Here's What A Walk-In Shower Should Cost Kohler Showers Learn More Undo Maharashtra has claimed the 865 villages along the border of the two states, asserting that they have a majority of Marathi-speaking residents. Karnataka has maintained that the 865 villages are part of its territory and has claimed instead that it should get control over 200 villages in Maharashtra because they have a Kannada-speaking majority. Protests have erupted in both states for decades, and politicians of both states have exchanged barbs. A case is pending before the Supreme Court. Over the decades, there have been multiple commissions and committees to look into the issue, as well as multiple protests in both states. The Maharashtra govt has announced different schemes and concessions for Marathi-speaking people in the disputed districts of Karnataka if they want to pursue education or govt jobs in Maharashtra.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Amid alliance buzz, why a shrunken Raj Thackeray may not be of much help to BJP, Sena (UBT) in civic polls
With the much-delayed Maharashtra local body elections approaching – after the Supreme Court in early May directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to notify the polls – Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is becoming a much sought after figure in state politics. Amid buzz of a reunion with his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray nearly two decades after Raj Thackeray quit the then undivided Shiv Sena in 2006, the MNS chief indicated that the deal was not done when he had a surprise meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on June 12. As the Sena (UBT) watches nervously, the BJP has indicated it's open to the MNS too, with Raj a strategic disruptor who draws his support from the same Marathi-speaking electorate that forms Uddhav's core voter base. With Raj's political career defined by frequent shifts in allegiance, and mixed signals to opponents as well as allies, these meetings have led to speculation of a political realignment ahead of the crucial civic body polls in Maharashtra. These polls, to be held nearly three years after the tenures of all the previous bodies came to an end, are the first since the splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP. While this adds to the uncertainty of all parties, the political impact of the MNS itself has been limited since it contested its first Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2009. In the Lok Sabha polls, the MNS is yet to win a seat and its vote share peaked at 4.1% in its debut election. In the Assembly elections, the MNS got off to a good start, winning 13 seats and 5.7% vote share. But its fortunes have since dwindled, with the party winning just one seat in 2014 and 2019 each, before dropping to zero in 2024. Still, with Raj's push for regional identity resonating with the urban Marathi electorate, the MNS has fared better in the three municipal corporation elections it has contested so far. In the first set of municipal corporation elections contested by the MNS between 2006 and 2009, the party won 45 seats across the 12 corporations where it contested, with an overall vote share of 5.87%. There are a total 2,118 seats spread across 22 corporations in Maharashtra. The MNS's best performances came in Nashik, where the party won 12 of the total 108 seats with a vote share of 12.97%, followed by wins in eight of Pune's 144 seats with a 7.74% vote share. The MNS recorded its second-highest vote share in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) at 10.43%, which was enough to win seven of its 228 seats. The undivided Shiv Sena and Congress were by far the dominant parties in Nashik and Brihanmumbai in terms of seats, while the undivided NCP was in pole position in Pune. In Nashik and Brihanmumbai, incidentally, the MNS's vote share exceeded that of the BJP's, at 10.44% and 8.69%, respectively, and was not far behind the NCP's 11.29% in Brihanmumbai. Of the nine corporations that fall within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the MNS managed to win seats in Brihanmumbai, Thane and Mira-Bhayandar. An analysis of the finishing positions in the municipal corporation polls held from 2006 to 2009 shows that in the 45 total seats won by the MNS, the Shiv Sena and the NCP were its main rivals, finishing as the runners-up in 15 and 13 seats, respectively. However, the MNS placed second in a total 63 seats, of which 25 were won by the Shiv Sena, 13 by the Congress, 12 by the NCP and seven by the BJP. Going by the seat tallies in these elections, the MNS and Shiv Sena would have benefited most from an alliance, though their combined seats and vote shares would still not have been enough to seal outright majorities. A party was able to win a majority on its own in just two corporations – Navi Mumbai and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both led by the NCP – likely owing to the competitive nature of urban local body polls, where Independents and regional parties or fronts have a significant presence. The MNS followed up its debut outing with strong performances in the municipal corporation elections held from 2009 to 2014. The party, contesting all but two of the 26 corporations, won 162 of the total 2,543 seats that went to polls, securing a much-improved overall vote share of 12.43%. Much like the previous set of municipal corporation elections, the MNS's best outings were in Nashik, Pune, Brihanmumbai and Kalyan-Dombivli (the latter two fall within the MMR). With 40 seats and a 28.24% vote share, the MNS was the single-largest party in Nashik. Though it fell short of an outright majority in the 122-member body, it received enough external support to lead the corporation. Here, its main rivals were the undivided Shiv Sena and NCP, which won 19 and 20 seats respectively, though the Congress was not far behind at 15 seats. The party, which won seats across 17 corporations, also managed to win 29 of Pune's 152 seats, 28 of Brihanmumbai's 227 seats, 27 of Kalyan-Dombivli's 107 seats, 12 of Jalgaon's 75 seats, and seven of Thane's 130 seats. The MNS won seats in all but two of the corporations under the MMR. In Pune, which was again dominated by the NCP, the MNS managed to outperform the Congress's tally of 28 seats, the BJP's 26, and the Shiv Sena's 15. In Brihanmumbai, it won more seats than the NCP at 13, and wasn't far behind the BJP's 31; but the Shiv Sena and Congress remained in the lead at 75 and 52 seats, respectively. In Kalyan-Dombivli, only the Shiv Sena, at 31 seats, was ahead of the MNS. In Jalgaon, where regional parties dominated, it won the second highest number of seats among the major parties, behind only the BJP at 15. In vote share terms, the MNS recorded its best performance in Kalyan-Dombivli at 28.72%, well ahead of every other party despite trailing the Shiv Sena in terms of seats. Its 28.24% vote share in Nashik was the party's next highest tally and the most among all the parties in the corporation. The MNS was the second-highest vote-getter in Brihanmumbai and Pune, with vote shares of 20.67% and 20.6%, respectively. It had the third highest vote shares in Thane at 15.41% and Jalgaon at 13.22%. In the total 162 seats won by the MNS, its main rivals who finished as runners-up were the Shiv Sena in 56 seats, NCP in 33, BJP in 28, and Congress in 25. But in the 255 seats where the MNS was the runner-up, it was largely trumped by the Shiv Sena, which won 92 of these seats, followed by the NCP at 56, BJP at 44, and Congress at 37. Going by these figures, an alliance of the MNS with the Shiv Sena may have proven more beneficial than one with the BJP, though neither combination would have together crossed the majority mark in any corporation, except in Kalyan-Dombivli, where the MNS and Shiv Sena's combined seat would have reached an outright majority. In the most recent set of corporation elections from 2014 to 2019, the last held in Maharashtra, the MNS suffered a major setback, raising questions on its political clout in urban regions. The party, contesting across 21 of the 27 corporations, won just 26 out of a total 2,736 seats with an overall vote share of 3.56% – both tallies well below even its civic poll debut almost a decade prior. The MNS's seat tally fell in all but one corporation while its vote share fell in all but two. Its best performance, with just nine seats, came in Kalyan-Dombivli, followed by seven seats in Brihanmumbai, and five seats in Nashik. While the Shiv Sena and BJP were neck-and-neck in the lead in Brihanmumbai and Kalyan-Dombivli, with the seat tallies at 84-to-82 and 52-42 respectively, the BJP was the clear front-runner in Nashik with 66 seats. The only other corporations where the MNS won seats were Chandrapur and Pune with two seats each, and one seat in Pimpri-Chinchwad. The MNS's relatively negligible seat tallies meant that it played only a marginal role in determining the outcomes, even where it put in its strongest performances. For instance, in Brihanmumbai and Nashik, neither the BJP nor the Shiv Sena would have had an outright majority even if the MNS's seats were added to its tally (a Shiv Sena-MNS combine, however, would have fallen short by one seat in Kalyan-Dombivli). But in Nashik, the MNS's best outcome, the BJP alone was able to secure an outright majority. In terms of vote shares, the MNS topped out at Kalyan-Dombivli at 10.31%, followed by Nashik at 10.01%, Brihanmumbai at 7.73%, Pune at 6.44%, and Thane at 5.57%. In 12 corporations, the party failed to cross the 1% vote share mark. In some corporations, the MNS's vote share declines from the previous polls were precipitous. In Kalyan-Dombivli, its vote share fell by 18.41 percentage points, and in Nashik by 18.23 percentage points. While in Pune it fell by 14.16 percentage points, the decline was 12.94% in Brihanmumbai. These figures highlight the declining popularity of the MNS, even in corporations where it held significant influence just five years prior.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader discontinues Marathi class for non-Marathi people due to poor response
Mumbai: In April, around the time the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) was flexing its muscles—quite literally, after failing to do so politically in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly elections—by assaulting people for not speaking in Marathi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey came up with an idea. To ensure the MNS did not hijack the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Marathi agenda, the 44-year-old announced he would launch a free Marathi-speaking course to help non-Marathi speakers who recently moved to Mumbai. Initially, there was enthusiasm for the course, with around 1,500 registrations, according to Dubey. 'We had identified two locations in Kandivali and a third in Malad for the classes, and were planning to expand further,' he said. The first batch began in mid-April in Kandivali, a suburb with a significant north Indian population, with around 50 students. However, Dubey's initiative would eventually fall victim to a perennial issue in a city with a burgeoning population, inadequate public transport and poor road conditions—commuting time. 'After the first week, attendance went down to around 50%,' said Dubey. 'Participants said that due to their office timings or their work-related issues, they found it difficult to attend regularly. Meanwhile, many of those who registered informed us that they could attend online classes, but it was not possible to attend physically due to work- and travel-related issues.' The Marathi agenda To think that a party helmed by the son of the legendary Bal Thackeray is fighting to ensure another party does not hijack its pro-Marathi agenda is seeped in irony. The Shiv Sena was founded in 1966 by the late Bal Thackeray to address the perceived marginalisation of Marathi-speaking people in Maharashtra. Its core agenda was to promote the interests of the Marathi manoos or sons of the soil. This agenda resonated with many Marathi-speaking voters in Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, as the Shiv Sena took control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 1985. Since then, it has never lost the polls to India's richest civic body. When Chhagan Bhujbal, then with the Shiv Sena, became the mayor of the city, he came up with the slogan 'Sundar Mumbai, Marathi Mumbai' (Beautiful Mumbai, Marathi Mumbai), with a commitment that the cosmopolitan metropolis with a diverse population would be seen as a city of Marathi people. The Shiv Sena has frequently reasserted this issue—of Mumbai's Marathi identity—in the last four decades. In March 2025, the issue was back on the political agenda after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi remarked that Mumbai does not have one language and that anyone coming to the city need not necessarily learn Marathi. His remark kicked up a controversy, with both the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS criticising it and using it to target the RSS and its political offshoot, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At his Gudhi Padwa rally on March 30 at Shivaji Park, MNS chief Raj Thackeray delivered a fiery speech emphasising the importance of the Marathi language and identity. He said that those who claim they cannot speak Marathi in Mumbai would 'get a slap on the face'. Immediately after the rally, there were several reported incidents of MNS workers assaulting people for not speaking Marathi, including bank and supermarket employees. The MNS's target appeared to be north Indians, the second-largest linguistic group in Mumbai after Marathis. Ever since it was formed in 2006, the party has had a history of aggressive rhetoric and violence against north Indian Hindi-speaking migrants in Maharashtra. It was in this backdrop that Dubey, who was born in Varanasi before his family moved to Mumbai when he was four, announced a Marathi-speaking course for non-Marathi people. The course was to be one month long and free. Dubey, who started his political journey with the Congress before joining the Shiv Sena in 2019, urged non-Marathi speakers to register for the course. He put up hoardings in Kandivali saying, 'Don't be afraid. Let's speak Marathi. Let's respect Marathi.' He also circulated a message on social media slamming the MNS for beating non-Marathi people for not knowing Marathi, but doing nothing to help them. There's no doubt the timing of Dubey's initiative was opportune, with the BMC elections expected to be held for the first time since 2017 after the monsoon. Following the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and a debacle in the 2024 assembly polls, the BMC elections could be make or break for the Shiv Sena (UBT). Party chief Uddhav Thackeray is keen to get the support of north Indians living in Mumbai. Dubey launched the Marathi-speaking course in Kandivali, where he's based. He appointed teachers who used to teach Marathi subjects in schools. Initially, it received a good response, with around 1,500 people registering. Accordingly, in the third week of April, the classes started, with the first batch of around 50. Most of the participants were north Indians, including shop owners, auto-taxi drivers, salesmen, employees of private companies and a couple of highly educated engineers. The challenges However, after the first week, attendance started dwindling as participants found it difficult to attend the class physically. Some participants also left the batch midway as they went to their hometowns for the summer vacations, Dubey said. As a result, the second batch could not start. Gulab Maurya, 42, a private sector employee from Dahisar who attended the first batch, said it was a good initiative and benefited him personally. 'The teacher, Rahul Jadhav, taught us communication skills in Marathi. First, he taught us similarities between Hindi and Marathi and then taught us words and sentences required in public places. After the first week, people started dropping out as some of them went on vacation, and some had work-related issues. At the end of the month, around 25 people completed the course. It gave me confidence that I can speak basic Marathi at office places and public places,' said Maurya. Lalu Yadav, 28, who runs a fruit stall in Dahisar, said that the class tenure should be around three months so that people can learn better. 'It was a good course to learn communication skills in Marathi. It was for one month, but I feel that it should be for around three months so that people can learn properly. Some people are quick in learning another language, but most people need time for it. Many people were demanding an online class, but I personally feel physical attendance is a better way to learn,' said Yadav. Dubey has discontinued the course for now, but said he would revive it if there is still demand for it. 'I am willing to restart it at any point in time,' he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Harshal Pradhan said the initiative had the party's support and was not a political move. 'Teaching Marathi to non-Marathi people is not a political event for us. It's a social service started by Dubey, and the party supports it. It would be continued as per the demand by people,' he said. However, the MNS's Mumbai president, Sandeep Deshpande, dismissed the initiative. 'It was nothing but a political stunt by Dubey. Those who want to speak Marathi learn it from other sources, and they don't need Dubey's class,' he said. Whether Deshpande changes his stance if the estranged cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray do reunite after two decades, as has been the subject of growing speculation in the last couple of months, remains to be seen.
