Thackerays turn pro-Brahmin?

Balasaheb Thackeray’s father – Keshav ‘Prabodhankar’ Thackeray was a social reformer and one of the initiators of the ‘Samyukta Maharashtra Chalwal’. Before that, he was at the forefront of the ant-Brahmin movement in Maharashtra. Surprisingly, his grandsons have taken pro-Brahmin stance… Raj has defended Babasaheb Purandare against ‘Maratha Chauvinism’ while Uddhav has castigated the Maratha lobby for ‘trying to change history’.

फक्त मराठी

Unhygienic Education!

Pune is traditionally considered to be the ‘Seat of Education’ (विद्येचं माहेरघर) in Western India… but this survey clearly shows that when it comes to basic education we are light years away from even providing basic hygiene!

MMRDA to ‘facilitate’ UP-Biharisation of Mumbai

Even as Maharashtra Economic Survey shows that the State is inundated with migrants from UP, Congress-NCP government wants more of them! MMRDA has announced a scheme to construct 5 lakh houses that can be given to the homeless on low rent for a period of 5 years. On the face, it looks like a noble scheme to get rid of the ‘Slumbai’ tag that the city has acquired… But Ratnakar Gaikwad, MMRDA Chief, has stated that you do not need a domicile to get a rental flat in the new scheme… an open invitation to migrants! Why should the taxpayers’ money be used to get more people in this overburdened city? Instead the funds should be used to improve the housing of existing people in Mumbai… irrespective of their mother tongue!

Afraid that MNS will make political capital out of this issue; Shiv Sena declares that it will not allow ‘laying of even a single brick’ for such a project!

Pookutty… the ideal migrant?

Suddenly film industry is wearing their ‘Love for Maharashtra’ on their sleeve… At a recent award function in Pune, Aamir Khan emphasized that how his mother taught him Marathi as a kid… while Rekha claimed to be a ‘Daughter of Maharashtra’. She even attempted a ‘Maharashtra Majha… Mee Maharashtrachi!”… Don’t know if a certain Mr. Thackeray will sue her for copyright violation!

But away from this lip service, Resul ‘Slumdog’ Pookutty is actually contributing towards improvement of Marathi Film Industry… his way of giving back to the state which nurtured him… indeed the kind of ‘migrant’ Maharashtra needs!

MHADA blames the software

After TOI showed us that all is not well with the MHADA lottery process… MHADA officials claim that it is the software that has goofed up and the same will be scrapped… 3M wants to ask one question to these guys… “Hum log kya Alibaug se aaye hai kya?”

“Marathmoli” Savita Bhabhi

3M is sure this is not something the SS-MNS had in mind when they insisted that usage Marathi should increase in Maharashtra… Savita Bhabhi, the Indian “exotic” cartoon series, is now available in Marathi!

Pawar's watch shows 'wrong time'

ये रे ये रे पावसा Ye Re Ye Re Pawsa

Where the hell have the rains gone?

MAHAPOL POWERLIST June 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 0
2. Bal Thackeray (82) SS 0
3. Ashok Chavan (50) INC 0
4. Raj Thackeray (39) MNS +3
5. Chhagan Bhujbal (60) NCP -1
6. Gopinath Munde (59) BJP -1
7. Uddhav Thackeray (48) SS -1
8. Vilasrao Deshmukh (63) INC 0
9. Narayan Rane (56) INC 0
10. Nitin Gadkari (60) BJP +2
11. Ajitdada Pawar (49) NCP -1
12. R R Patil (52) NCP -1
13. Praful Patel (53) NCP 0
14. Murli Deora (71) INC +3
15. Gurudas Kamat (51) INC +3
16. Prakash Ambedkar (51) RPI -1
17. Ramdas Athavale (55) RPI -3
18. Vinay Kore (37) JSP -2
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. Sadashiv Mandlik (76) IND (New Entry)
25. Supriya Sule (39) NCP (New Entry)

Party Code:

BJP – Bharatiya Janata Party

INC – Indian National Congress
IND – Independent
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

• MNS vote share in Mumbai is next only to Congress as they were able to pocket almost 2/3rd of Shiv Sena’s votes. In addition MNS was the leading party in 10 assembly segments. All these developments have propelled Raj Thackeray to number 4 position.
• Due to the poll debacle of NCP, Ajitdada and RR Patil have slipped two positions (leading to Gadkari’s rise)… but Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel have retained their ranks as they were able to get their earlier portfolios at the centre.
• Murli Deora shoots up 3 steps of the ladder on two counts. His son was able to retain his seat even after lackluster performance and stiff competition. Secondly, Deora was able to retain his portfolio when other “over the hill” ministers were shown the door.
• The other Mumbai congressman – Gurudas Kamat also got a 3 point boost due to his unexpected win and entry into the central cabinet.
• Ramdas Athavale has been pulled down 3 steps due to his defeat… while the other Dalit leader, Prakash Ambedkar has come down one step inspite of his defeat as he was not a sitting MP.
• Inability to show their prowess in the elections has thrown Jayant Patil and N D Patil out of the Mahapol list.
• Two new entrants in the list… Sadashiv Mandlik the sitting MP from Kolhapur was denied the ticket by Sharad Pawar in favour of Chhatrapati Shahu, Scion of the local royalty. Mandlik rebelled to fight and win the election. Supriya Sule finally makes it to the list as she starts reasserting herself in the Pune region… overruling Ajitdada at times!

MahaPol can be directly contacted on mahapol25@gmail.com