Fadnavis pushes for image makeover

Determined to consolidate support across caste and community lines, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis is stepping up his outreach efforts, with an eye to the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls due in 2029. Teams comprising senior BJP & RSS functionaries and sect leaders formed under Fadnavis will target over 7,000 local fairs listed by the Revenue Department as well as village-level weekly markets in the state. This initiative is of a piece with Fadnavis’ ‘DevaBhau’ ad campaign. We will have to wait until 2029 to find out if these efforts will yield electoral dividends.

Two weeks on, no flight services at airport

Even though it has been over two weeks since PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Navi Mumbai International Airport with great fanfare on October 8, there is no word on when commercial flight services would commence. Since the nodal agency, CIDCO, has yet to finish infrastructure-related works around the airport, the services are not likely to begin before December. It begs the question—why was there any hurry for the PM to inaugurate it if much of the work was pending? Besides, the locals’ demand to name the airport after Agri-Koli leader DB Patil remains unfulfilled.

Sapkal snubs Opposition delegation, sparks buzz

Maharashtra Congress party chief Harshwardhan Sapkal may keep a low profile, but he never shies away from sending out a message, either through his presence or absence. He raised eyebrows earlier this month by staying away from an Opposition delegation that met with the state election panel to address alleged irregularities in the voter list ahead of local body elections. The delegation comprised state political heavyweights like Sharad Pawar and Uddhav & Raj Thackeray. Sapakal, who avoided sharing space with the MNS chief, knows that the Congress always has his back!

Sudhir Suryawanshi

Our correspondent in Maharashtra

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