Maharashtra Election Results - A Slap in the Face of Provocative Regionalism

The Oct 2009 election results in Maharashtra, India, have proved one major issue – the divisive policies of self-centered politicians like Raj Thakerey are NOT welcome by the people of India. The stellar show of the Congress political party is nothing but a slap in the face of the leaders who openly propagate divisiveness based on region and religion.

The better part of 2008 was spent by these so called leader’s calls to push out non-locals from the teeming metropolis of Mumbai. Goons obviously sponsored by this regional party went berserk targeting people from other states of the country who had come to the city of hope in search of a decent job and a promise of livelihood. Even high profile citizens like the world famous actor Amitabh Bachhan were not spared, and had to re-word their statements in cloaks of decency to ensure their safety.

Amitabh Bachhan still lives in his high profile bungalow in one of the most posh areas of the city. UP politician Amar Singh engaged in a verbal duel and pushed off in his AC entourage.

Who lost out?

Of course, as in all such cases, the biggest sufferers were the poor.

Hundreds of impoverished laborers from Bihar had to flee the very homes they had painstakingly built in years after they were sequentially targeted. Some even lost their lives. Such was the terror generated that trains out of Mumbai were actually full with people trying to flee the constant fear and the humiliation.

Never mind the fact that most of Mumbai’s dirty work is actually done by these hard working immigrants. The political party wanted an issue to exploit, and they got an emotional one. After all, the local population will always have a bigger vote bank than outsiders. Moreover, issues of ‘stealing employment’ by ‘outsiders’ never fail in raising an emotional chord with the locals.

The police commissioner’s appeal went in vain when goons targeting ‘outsiders’ went on a rampage, and scared ordinary folk were not too sure whether their lives were still safe.

Enter the 26/11 Mumbai attacks on the heart soul of the metro city. While the local media made a hero out of a police officer who simply stepped out of his jeep without taking basic precautions and got shot, Mumbaikars and the nation got to see a very different picture of the truth.

NSG commandoes hailing from different parts of the country, definitely NOT from Mumbai, took the terrorists head on. Unmindful of the danger to their own lives, they eliminated the fanatics in a clinical manner in the face of heavy odds, some even losing their lives in the process. The world saw the events live.

It was here that a TV channel asked Raj Thakerey whether these commandoes should have asked why they were willing to lose their lives for a city that shunned outsiders. Or if Raj Thakerey should have insisted that only ‘pure Mumbaikars’ should fight the battle to save his city. The divisive leader, of course, was conspicuous by his absence, like all others of his political ilk. He was too scared to come out of his well-fortified home to bother about issues like Mumbaikars and non-Mumbaikars. Leave it to the cops for a change, he probably thought, let me save my own skin first.

In the months that followed, it was refreshing to see that the anti-immigrant rhetoric was played down significantly. Of course the elections brought about a fresh wave of verbal attacks, but the overall mood had been set and the tone was much subdued.

The final nail in the coffin of such divisive policies has been driven by the ultimate power in a democracy – that of votes of the people. The election results are clearly a thumbs-down to the wayward and disruptive policies of political parties, who have deservingly been shown the door by the electorate.

A scorching slap in the face of Raj Thakerey and his ilk. Will they learn, or will they continue with their politics of hate? Only time will tell.