धक्काबुक्की

शिव सेनेचा धक्का... आणि मनसेचा बुक्का!

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Shivajigiri

Sudheendra Kulkarni, part of BJP’s think tank, acknowledges the fact that ‘Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy’ gave a fillip to MNS in LS elections… and nudges Raj to take up a more inclusive path to ‘shine in Maharashtra’. So is BJP warming up to MNS… their Chintan Baithaks seem to be hinting at that! Not surprising as TOI is already speculating that Pawar might cosy up with Shiv Sena before the coming state elections.

Interestingly Kulkarni coins a new word – Shivajigiri… which might become ‘currency’ in Maharashtra in the coming days.

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Gay man gets ‘Pandu’ support

Even as India government is contemplating repealing the Victorian era anti-gay legislation, many Mumbai gays complain harassment by police… So when Cherag Bambboat, a cosmetic expert, praised Mumbai Police for their support in a gay bashing case, 3M was surprised!

Munj with a difference!

Last year, 3M had admonished Dhananjay Datar for conducting a “Munj in Sky” while the world was hit by recession… but now he was pleasantly surprised by another “Munj with a difference”. Asmita and Amod Ketkar from Thane decided to conduct the thread ceremony for their 8 year old offspring… only difference in that the child in question is a girl called Sejal! Kudos to the couple for breaking the “religious glass ceiling”… hopefully more people will follow suit.

Bihar is a changing

3M came across this Rediff article by Mahesh Vijapurkar… Bihar is turning a new leaf after years of abuse by Lalu-types… and the credit goes to Nitish Kumar. Most migrants, I have spoken to would be happy to stay in their home town/ state if they had even "less than equal" opportunity than that they have got in Mumbai… and this includes migrants from rural Maharashtra.

3M hopes that Mayawati take a page from Nitish’s book and invests in the progress of UP instead of wasting money in memorial parks!

Tiger earns his stripes?

Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy – Part 2

A hilarious take on the Raj-Uddhav Spat!

Kalyan Khajina

Ninadrao Bedekar, eminent Maratha historian, was in town to release a book of history and heritage of Kalyan – “Prachin Kalyan” by Dr. Sriniwas Sathe. Bedekar insisted that government should start a sound and light show to make people aware of the glorious past of the city... a suggestion that was immediately accepted by the Dy Mayor of Kalyan.

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Heritage buffs were in for another treat when one more book “Heritage of Kalyan” was released. This book is a veritable treasure trove of photographs related Kalyan’s architecture that covers Mughal as well as Maratha structures.

3M can’t wait till he gets his hands on these two books!

ढगाला लागली कळ Dhagala Lagli Kala

This song is posted in anticipation that the monsoons will hit Maharashtra in the later part of this week!

Complete draft of Uddhav's open letter to Raj Thackeray

राज ठाकरे बंद करा बकवास. तुमच्या बेताल ‘पकपकी’मुळे मराठी माणसांचा तमाशा होतोय. तमाशातील बारीप्रमाणे सवालजबाब करण्याची माझी अजिबात इच्छा नसून माननीय बाळासाहेब ठाकरे यांच्या आदेशाप्रमाणे काम करणारा मी एक सच्चा मराठी शिवसैनिक आहे, अशा खणखणीत शब्दांत शिवसेना कार्याध्यक्ष उद्धव ठाकरे यांनी राज ठाकरे यांना जबरदस्त टोला लगावला आहे.‘दोन मराठी माणसे भांडताहेत व महाराष्ट्राचे दुश्मन टाळ्या वाजवताहेत हे चित्र मला नको आहे. दुर्दैवाने आज तेच घडत आहे. राज ठाकरे ज्या पद्धतीची पकपक करीत आहेत, बोलत आहेत त्यामुळे त्यांचेच पितळ उघडे पडत असून, शिवसेनेच्या विचारांचे नाणे मात्र, खणखणीत वाजत आहे.राज ठाकरे यांनी त्यांच्या ‘पकपक’ भाषणात जे बकवास प्रश्न उपस्थित केलेत ते हास्यास्पद आहेत. उद्धव ठाकरे यांनी कोणाला मतदान केले? त्यांनी जेठमलानींनाच मतदान केले ना? असा सवाल आहे. होय मी मा. शिवसेनाप्रमुख बाळासाहेब ठाकरे यांच्या आदेशाने शिवसेना-भाजप युतीचे उमेदवार महेश जेठमलानी यांनाच मतदान केले आहे. मी व माझ्याप्रमाणे असंख्य शिवसैनिक फक्त शिवसेनाप्रमुखांचेच आदेश मानतात आणि जेठमलानी यांनी मतदान केले त्याबाबत राज ठाकरे यांनी संतापाचा झटका येण्याचे कारण काय? राज ठाकरे मराठमोठय़ा रमेश किणीच्या खून प्रकरणात अडकले होते तेव्हा शिवसेनाप्रमुख स्वत: ‘राज’ यातून कसा बाहेर पडेल होऽऽ यासाठी सतत जेठमलानींच्याच संपर्कात होते. त्यामुळे युतीचे उमेदवार म्हणून किणी प्रकरणातील उपकारकर्ते म्हणून जेठमलानींना मतदान करणे हे कर्तव्यच ठरते हे आता तरी राज ठाकरे यांना पटायला हरकत नाही; पण केलेल्या उपकारांची जाण ठेवून वागतील ते राज ठाकरे कुठले?‘मनसे’च्या दळभद्रीपणामुळे संजय निरुपम निवडून आले हे खरेच आहे. निरुपम आले व राम नाईक पडल्याचा जणू आनंदोत्सवच आता सुरू आहे. या निर्लज्जपणासही दाद द्यावीच लागेल. राज ठाकरे म्हणतात, निरुपम शिवसेनेनेच मांडीवर घेतले होते ना? राजजी, बरोबर आहे तुमचे निरुपम बेइमान निघाले. खाल्ल्या मिठाला जागले नाहीत हे खरेच आहे. निरुपम मराठी माणसाच्या मुळावर येत आहे. हे ज्याक्षणी लक्षात आले त्याक्षणी शिवसेनाप्रमुखांनी त्यांच्या पाश्र्वभागावर लाथ मारून त्यांना हाकलून दिले; पण तुमचे काय? राज आपण तर जन्मत:च माँसाहेबांच्या, बाळासाहेबांच्या मांडीवरच खेळलात व मोठे झालात, माँनेच तुम्हाला मांडीवर बसवून जेवू-खावू घातले. आपल्याला आज जो मराठी कंठ फुटला तोही त्याच मांडीवर. तुमच्यासारख्यांनी जेथे माँ व बाळासाहेबांच्या मांडीवर खेळून बेइमानी केली तेथे निरुपमचे काय? ते तर परके व उपरेच होते. तुम्हाला काय कमी केले म्हणून बाळासाहेब व शिवसेनेच्या पाठीत खंजीर खुपसून तुम्ही गेलात?मुंबईतील शिवसेनेचे उमेदवार मतांच्या फाटाफुटीमुळे पडले. त्यामुळे आता दिल्लीत मराठी माणसांची बाजू कोण मांडणार? ही आमची सल आजही कायम आहे. यावर राज ठाकरे विचारतात. मग शिवसेनेचे जे ११ खासदार निवडून आले ते नेपाळी आहेत काय? ते नेपाळी नाहीत. मराठीच आहेत; पण मोहन रावले, सुरेश गंभीर, गजानन कीर्तिकरांसारखे उमेदवार मुंबईत पडले ते ‘बांगलादेशी’ होते, असे राज ठाकरे यांना म्हणायचे आहे काय? मराठी तरुणांच्या नोकऱ्या व रोजगारांसाठी ३५ वर्षे काम करणाऱ्या गजानन कीर्तिकरांचा पराभव ज्या शालिनी ठाकरेंमुळे झाला त्या शालिनीताईंचे कूळ व मूळ काय? शालिनी ठाकरे मराठी आहेत की अमराठी आहेत. असे फालतू प्रश्न विचारण्याच्या आम्ही फंदात पडलो नाही. दीपक सावंत यांना आम्ही पदवीधर मतदारसंघातून उभे केले होते; पण राज ठाकरे यांनी त्या वेळी काँग्रेसचे उमेदवार अमरजितसिंह मनहास यांना पाठिंबा दिला होता. दीपक सावंत हे मराठीच होते, ते काही नेपाळी नव्हते. शिवाय इतकी वर्षे शिवसेनेत व परिवारात राहून काकांच्या पाठीत वार करून आपण निघून गेला. पण शिवसेनाप्रमुखांची इमानेइतबारे सेवा करणारा थापा नेपाळीच आहे हे विसरू नका. आपण उत्तम नकलाकार आहात. हिंदी सिनेमांचे डायलॉगही पाठ आहेत. ‘आपुन ने सॉलिड मारा..’ हा अमिताभचा डायलॉग आपण म्हटलात. एका बाजूला अमिताभवर बंदी घालण्याची व त्याचाच डायलॉग वापरून स्वत:चीच ‘सॉलिड’ मारून घ्यायची ही ढोंगं शिवसेनेत कधी चालली नाहीत.‘‘राज ठाकरे आपली वक्तव्ये पाहून वाटते, की आपण आता खूप खपूच मोठे झाला आहात. आपले हात आभाळाला पोहोचलेत. महाराष्ट्राचा पुढचा मुख्यमंत्रीही म्हणे आपणच ठरविणार आहात. जरूर ठरवा महाराष्ट्राचे मुख्यमंत्रीपद हे आपल्यासाठी खूपच छोटे आहे. आपण आता इतके मोठे झाला आहात, की महाराष्ट्राचे मुख्यमंत्रीपदच काय, तर अमेरिकेचे राष्ट्राध्यक्ष व ब्रिटनचे राजपुत्र व राजकन्या हेदेखील आपणच ठरवू शकता. आपल्याला आशीर्वाद आणि शुभेच्छा देण्याशिवाय मी दुसरे काय करू शकतो?आतापर्यंत राज ठाकरेंच्या बेताल टीकेकडे व आरोपांकडे मी लक्ष दिले नाही. कारण माझ्यावर ‘माँ व बाळासाहेबांचे संस्कार आहेत; पण आता राज माझे नाव घेऊन बोलला म्हणूनच हा खुलासा करीत आहे. यापुढे मला राजच्या टीकेला उत्तर देण्याची गरज नाही. राज, ही बकवास आतातरी थांबवा. एवढेच मी नम्रपणे सांगू इच्छितो!

UP Biharisation in NDA?

Punekars claim that the “Northerly Winds” are not that strong this year as they used to be a few years ago… candidates from Northern states dominate the scene in National Defence Academy!

Marathi Mulgis going places

Marathi Mulgis are not only rocking the scene… but also going places! While Dombivali’s Ketki Patil’s going to NASA might look like a small achievement… 19 year old Krushna Patil becomes the first Marathi girl to climb Mount Everest!

Naxal kill 16 policemen

Sixteen policemen were killed when Naxals detonated a landmine in Tawitolal in Gadchiroli district. The naxalite belt stretches from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh like a dagger in India’s chest!

Marathi Nyahari (Breakfast) on Big FM

Last year, 3M had suggested that media houses should look at opening a Marathi FM station in Mumbai given the huge potential… Now, Viplove Gupte of BIG FM is starting a Sunday Breakfast show called Masala Chaha. The program will cover a wide range of Marathi Songs interspersed with celeb interviews and local issue chats.

3M was amused to see the timing… 6-8 am on Sunday… when 80% of Mumbai is sleeping!

Why is MNS whitewashing their Aurangabad results?

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is bragging about "1 Lac plus votes for all its candidates"… but is that true? They have conveniently blocked out the number of votes garnered by Subhash Patil on their official website. A birdy told 3M that MNS was able to attract only 17,026 voters in Aurangabad… That is half as much as the local BSP candidate!

So it's miles to walk (beyond the Mumbai-Nashik-Pune triangle) before you sleep!

Shiv Sena starts SMS war to regain Marathi Votes

Shocked by the fact that Marathi Manoos has deserted them, Shiv Sena has unleashed an SMS campaign.... 2 SMSs that have been making rounds of Mumbai... usually sent from Shiv Sena loyalists to MNS voters...

"धन्यवाद राज ठाकरे, बाळासाहेबांच्या स्वप्नांचा चुराडा करण्यासाठी, काँग्रेस-राष्ट्रवादीची मदत करण्यासाठी, निरुपम, दत्त, कामत, देवरांची मुंबई हीच का बाळासाहेबांच्या संस्कारांची कमाई ? "

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"मराठी हटाव... संजय निरुपमला निवडून दिल्याबद्दल हार्दिक अभिनंदन.... - राज ठाकरे (अध्यक्ष, उत्तर भारतीय महासंघ) "

स्वराज्य तोरण Swarajya Toran

ONE TIGHT SLAP!

Indian voters have given ONE TIGHT SLAP to all those politicians who were dreaming of creating an unstable government to suit their own ulterior motives…

Raj sinks the Saffron boat in Mumbai

Bachelors in Mass Media (Marathi)

Given the atrocious grammar and diction that some of the video journalist have on the half dozen odd Marathi Channels, a Bachelors in Mass Media (Marathi) was long overdue! Looking at the potential, over 11 colleges have applied to the Mumbai University for the newly created course.

Life in "the Metro"!

A day in the life of a Mumbaikar - by Jazyl Homavazir

Maharashtra Lok Sabha 2009 Predictions

Before the news channels start broadcasting their exit poll results today evening, MahaPol has decided to stick out his neck and ‘predict’ the outcome in Maharashtra!

Marathi Mulgi Rocks

DJ Megha Kawale has christened her own record label as Mulgee – the simple and innocent Marathi girl… Nice to see she wears her “Marathmola” Heritage on her sleeve... but thankfully without any chest thumping!

गजानना श्री गणराया Gajanana Shri Ganaraya

Tomorrow is Angarika Chaturthi.

Why can’t we have a Cinematic Museum in Maharashtra?

Maharashtra is the cradle of Indian Film Industry with Pune as the seat of cinematic learning (as it hosts the FTII)… 3M was wondering as to why don’t we have a museum dedicated to the Cinematic Heritage when he read about this exhibition on Marathi Film Posters… such private initiatives need government support to convert them to a permanent museum.

Why media fingers Raj Thackeray?

Media loves throwing in the RT factor even when it’s not warranted… probably just to catch some eyeballs. It’s amazing how Midday creates news out of nothing!

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In fact 3M feels that Shubham Sharma (the student described in the article) can become MNS’s poster boy… an assimilating north Indian!

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Anyone for German Lavni?

Years back, Sushma Shiromani introduced the trend of getting Hindi actresses to perform Lavni in Marathi movies… Rekha’s “Kutha Kutha Jayaycha Honeymoonla” and Maushmi Chatterjee’s “#@&*^$” (3M can’t recollect the song) were “item numbers” long before the trend evolved in Hindi Cinema!

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Now Nagesh Bhosale, the director of “Gallit Gondhal Dillit Mujra”, has used Suzanne Bernert, a German actress for a Lavni song in the film’s climax.

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3M Trivia: Earlier “Ar Ar Abba… Ata Tari Thamba” poked fun at RR Patil… While GGDM has a small label “Narya Mhanto” making fun of Narayan Rane.

Ranichi Baug is dying…

When 3M visited the newly restored Bhau Daji Lad Museum at Bhaikhala (Byculla for the Anglophiles) a year ago, he made a quick dash to the ‘Ranichi Baug’, our beloved zoo… the state of affairs in there was woeful to say the least.

3M’s worst fears turned into a reality when last week a hippopotamus died due to negligence… How many more innocent animals will be sacrificed at BMC’s ‘Altar of Mismanagement’? Can’t we have a public-private partnership like the one that restored the museum to nurse the zoo back to good health?

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‘Sons of the soil’ movie

The resurgence of Marathi Cinema is for all to see… but when ‘Tu Majha Jeev’, an “East Indian” film was released in Mumbai last week 3M was elated… Interestingly, the director is a ‘Singh’ and the lead actors are Marathi speaking Hindus!

For the uninitiated, East Indians are local Christians from Mumbai and Vasai area who consider themselves to be the original ‘sons of soil’… sound like ‘potential market’ for MNS!

Raj takes a leaf from Modi’s ‘Book of Politics’

On Sunday, Raj Thackeray delivered a lecture on “Future of Maharashtra” during a Vyakhyanmala in Nigdi near Pune. 3M accidentally came across live transmission of the event on Star Majha… Surprise Surprise… Thackeray Jr was singing a different tune… from “UP-Bihari Hatao” he has moved to “Development”. The speech was replete with examples of development from around the world. He realizes that rhetoric (and violence) can open political doors but development can ensure sustained support from voters… Lessons learnt from M/s Modi, Dixit & Pattnaik!

The fact that he is warming up to BJP was clear from his statements like “Modi for PM” and “Gadkari for CM”… as political equations are set to change, he seems to be preparing ground!

मल्हार वारी Malhar Wari

A song that subtlety shows the strong link that an urban Marathi Manoos has with his rural roots… Holidays to “Native Place” in the summer vacation!

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"Golden Words" on Goldren Jubilee

Verbal skirmishes between Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan and Raj Thackeray on Maharashtra Day were hilarious… Both made their comments when they arrived at Hutatma Chowk to ‘pay their tributes to Martyrs’.

CHAVAN: This is the Golden Jubilee of Maharashtra… It’s sad that on such a pavitra (holy) occasion only Congress party is present… I have with me the Head of Maharashtra Congress (Manikrao Thakre) as well as Mumbai Congress (Kripashankar Singh)… Where are other parties? How come those who express their "love for Maharashtra" are absent?

THACKERAY: His father “picked up the shoes” of Sanjay Gandhi during a rally @ Shivaji park (in the 70s)… such a person should not teach us about “love for Maharashtra”!

3M is amused that the CM finds this occasion “Pavitra”… has he forgotten in whose memory the Hutatma Memorial has been erected? Let’s refer the 3Mpedia… Once upon a time there was a ‘Bombay State’ in India with the city of Bombay as its capital. The state had parts of current day Sindh, Gujarat, Western Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka. When Linguistic States were planned a demand for ‘Samyukta Maharashtra’ came up… a single Marathi speaking state carved out from Bombay State, Hyderabad State (Marathwada) and Madhya Bharat (Vidarbha). In the city of Bombay, the Gujarati community dominated the local Congress unit and pressed for a separate ‘City State’. Large scale protests (some of then violent) under the auspices of Samyukta Maharashtra Chalwal erupted across the state. Morarji Desai, the then CM of Bombay State, asked the police department to crack down heavily on the protestors… which lead to 105 deaths! These 105 people are venerated at Hutatma Chowk as Martyrs who ensured a unified Marathi state. Ironically, the party which has blood on its hands of these 105 people is paying tribute to them half a century down the line!
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Does that mean that Congress has “accepted” Mumbai as an integral part of the Maharashtra? Of course not! In case you didn’t know each state in the country has a Pradesh Congress Committee… eg BPCC – Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee. But Maharashtra is a unique state… it has a Mumbai Pradesh Congress Committee for the city and a Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee for rest of the state. Mind you other cosmopolitan cities like Surat and Bangalore do not have such privileges. 49 years after the creation of the state, the Congress party refuses to acknowledge the fact that Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra… as if they are the torch bearers of the Bombay Citizens’ Committee. 3M challenges the Congress High Command to abolish the Mumbai Pradesh Congress Committee… that is in case they want to build bridges with Marathi Manoos!

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Instead of taking on Chavan by presenting the historical perspective, Raj Thackeray preferred to make personal attacks on the CM… what a wasted opportunity!
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"Deadly" Puneri Pati

It happens only in Pune!

Bachchan expresses his love for Maharashtra

After being targeted for being “in love” with UP, Amitabh expresses his love for Maharashtra… but only in Samna!

3M wonders whether "Samajwadi" Jaya has approved this ad?

Mumbaikars show their ‘Middle Finger’

Even after 26/ 11 and television campaigns goading people to vote… Mumbaikars showed their middle fingers (figuratively) by staying away from the booths…

On the other hand Celebrities and Politicians flashed their middle fingers literally!

MAHAPOL POWERLIST MAY 09 Edition

click on the image to see larger version

The complete list of 25 most powerful politicians is as follows -

1. Sharad Pawar (68) NCP +1
2. Bal Thackeray (82) SS -1
3. Ashok Chavan (50) INC 0
4. Chhagan Bhujbal (60) NCP 0
5. Gopinath Munde (59) BJP 0
6. Uddhav Thackeray (48) SS 0
7. Raj Thackeray (39) MNS 0
8. Vilasrao Deshmukh (63) INC 0
9. Narayan Rane (56) INC 0
10. Ajitdada Pawar (49) NCP 0
11. R R Patil (52) NCP 0
12. Nitin Gadkari (60) BJP 0
13. Praful Patel (53) NCP 0
14. Ramdas Athavale (55) RPI 0
15. Prakash Ambedkar (51) RPI 0
16. Vinay Kore (37) JSP 0
17. Murli Deora (71) INC 0
18. Gurudas Kamat (51) INC 0
19. Sushilkumar Shinde (66) INC 0
20. Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil (76) INC 0
21. Manohar Joshi (71) SS 0
22. Vijaysingh Mohite Patil (64) NCP 0
23. Vinod Tawde (45) BJP 0
24. Jayant Patil (46) NCP 0
25. N D Patil (78) PWP 0

Party Code

BJP – Bharatiya Janata Party

INC – Indian National Congress

JSS – Jana Surajya Shakti

MNS – Maharashtra Navanirman Sena

NCP – Nationalist Congress Party

PWP – Peasants & Workers Party (Shetkari Kamgar Paksha)

RPI – Republican Party of India (any faction)

SS – Shiv Sena

Movement on the MahaPol ladder –
0 : Zero indicates that there has been no change in the ranking over the previous month.
+X : Plus indicates improvement in ranking over last month and ‘x’ indicates how many ranks he/ she has moved upwards.
-X : Minus indicates degradation in ranking over last month and ‘x’ indicates how many ranks he/ she has moved downwards.

To understand the methodology used for the ranking click here.

The figure in bracket indicates the age of the politician.

Analysis

• This probably the “most boring” post since the inception of MahPol Powerlist… except for exchange of the top two posts between Sharad Pawar and Balasaheb Thackeray, there is not change in the list. Pawar has been propelled by the fact that from Jayalalitha to Mulayam to Patnaik many regional parties are voicing support for his Prime ministerial candidature.
• But just wait till the May 16 results and you may see a radically changed list next time… especially some key Congressmen look vulnerable!
  
  MahaPol can be directly contacted on mahapol25@gmail.com