Today in Politics: Rising face in Maharashtra politics; UCC local body polls

On Monday, Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar claimed one could see the “uday (the rise)” of a new leader within the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.

Then, on Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said Samant was “being groomed as a possible replacement for Shinde”. “He (Sawant) has gone to Davos with him (Chief Minister Fadnavis). Now, there is a discord in the (Mahayuti) alliance over guardian ministership (the parties have issues over appointments). If Shinde cannot control his ministers, how can he lead?” Raut said.

While Samant dismissed the statements as “political childishness” and said they were attempts to cause a rift between him and Shinde, a conversation has begun about the industries minister’s rising profile in the Shiv Sena.

Adding to the conversation, Raut said on Wednesday that Samant was going to break the Shiv Sena.

“Samant has gone to Davos to break the Sena MLAs and MPs. He has the blessings of Delhi and the full support of Delhi (a reference to the BJP’s top brass). Fadnavis does not want Shinde anymore. Tomorrow, PM Narendra Modi will also not want Shinde,” Raut claimed.

Samant responded that in the next three months, several Sena UBT and Congress’s MLAs and MPs would be joining the Sena.

While this could all be regular  buzz in the crowded Maharashtra landscape, it points towards the growing influence of Samant who was once close to the Thackeray family. Since the split in Sena, he has managed to find space in the inner circuit of deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as well.

Local body polls in Uttarakhand

In the shadow of the pending implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), there is much more at stake for the BJP and Congress in Uttarakhand than just winning Thursday’s local body polls.

The BJP has its sights firmly set on the 2027 Assembly polls, the Congress, which has been stung by recent high-profile exits and rebellions, is looking to regain its foothold in the hill state.

Buoyed by the Cabinet approval for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) days ahead of the local body polls, the party’s campaign led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been revolving around bringing in a “triple engine government”. However, the move has provided the Congress ammunition to slam the state government for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The Congress has written to the State Election Commission over the issue and sought action against the BJP.

Ayodhya Ram temple, 1 year later

A year after the grand consecration ceremony for the Ram Temple, Ayodhya is a city in transition. All across what used to be a Nagar Palika Parishad with an estimated population of about 80,000, the makeover to a major pilgrimage site that gets as many visitors every day – going up to three times – is on.

The construction of the temple has had to accommodate for this large footfall, even as the new deadline for its completion is now March 30, 2025.

Maulshree Seth’s ground report gives you a full picture.

— With PTI inputs