‘Bid to create Marathi-Gujarati divide is mere election posturing’

MUMBAI: The incessant verbal duel between the Shiv Sena, BJP and MNS may lend sound and fury to the election campaign, but the communal epithets have failed to sway either Maharashtrian or Gujarati voters. Neither community is offended; in fact, both warn that political posturing should not be allowed to vitiate relations between two large linguistic blocs of Mumbai.

Mumbai has 28% Marathi-speaking natives, while 20% are Gujarati.

Diamond trader Amit Shah is a member of the Bharat Diamond Bourse and an ardent supporter of the BJP, particularly of PM Narendra Modi. "Be it Uddhav Thackeray's comment comparing Modi's team to Afzal Khan or counter-arguments by the BJP, I see this as electioneering sound and fury. There is nothing more to it than that. I personally wish that the Sena and BJP pool forces after the election. One cannot divorce a 25-year marriage on trivial issues," Shah says.

Bohra realtor Murtuza Ali Rajkotwala has business interests in Rajkot and Mumbai. "These angry statements do not impact me or anybody else. The Sena knows the BJP will cut its vote share and vice versa. The day the results are declared, the former alliance partners will start working out the arithmetic," he says.

Rajkotwala was born and raised in Mumbai, while his entire family lives in Gujarat. Constant comparisons between the two states by the MNS, Sena and BJP leave him unmoved. "Bohras are based in Gujarat and in Mumbai, and we know both places are good for business. Political banter is good entertainment, it does not influence votes," he says.

Photojournalist Santosh Shinde says politicians themselves do not take their provocative utterances seriously. "Such posturing is merely to win opinion and influence voters. It is a classic case of fool the people and rule the people. When the curtains go down on the day's political drama, politicians share excellent relations with one another. Just yesterday Pankaja Munde spoke of how Uddhav Thackeray treats her like a sister. The Sena did not pitch a candidate against Pritam Munde in the bye-election resulting from Gopinath Munde's death."

Shinde says, "During campaigns, the strategy of politicians is one of I pretend to smack you, you pretend to cry. People have come to enjoy these speeches for a good laugh."

In Kurla, social activist Prabhakar Mandale says he speaks for his entire Sonapur Lane compound. "Each of us takes the daily war of words between friends-turned-foes with a pinch of salt. After the election, they will warm to one another if they do not get the expected results," he says. Mandale helms a Navratra mandal that does social work all year around. He says, "Ours is a cosmopolitan neighbourhood although the number of Maharashtrians is greater than other communities. We will cast our vote for the best candidate, not by region or party affiliation."

Stay updated on the go with The Times of India's mobile apps. Click here to download it for your device.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

‘Bid to create Marathi-Gujarati divide is mere election posturing’

Dengan url

http://cegahkeropostulang.blogspot.com/2014/10/abid-to-create-marathi-gujarati-divide.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

‘Bid to create Marathi-Gujarati divide is mere election posturing’

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

‘Bid to create Marathi-Gujarati divide is mere election posturing’

sebagai sumbernya