Maharashtra Bhushan spectacle a political ploy?

Mumbai: The Shinde-Fadnavis government turned the Maharashtra Bhushan Award ceremony on Sunday into a grand spectacle, as Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred the award on spiritual-social leader Dr Appasaheb Dharmadhikari. The award is being seen as an attempt by the ruling alliance to strengthen political ties with a spiritual group whose followers run into lakhs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and parts of Konkan. The Maharashtra Bhushan is the state’s highest civilian award.

A significant number of Dharmadhikari’s over-25 lakh followers were present as were Shinde, Fadnavis and several ministers. It was evident that the grand award ceremony was a politically calculated show with an eye on Dharmadhikari’s treasure trove of followers.

Thane and Palghar districts have 24 assembly constituencies, and the Raigad district has seven; thus, outside Mumbai, 31 assembly constituencies fall in the area. Also, six Lok Sabha constituencies, including four from Thane and Palghar, Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and Mawal Lok Sabha constituency, have followers of Dharmadhikari. This makes Dharmadhikari and his followers very important to political parties.

Appasaheb Dharamadhikari, who runs the Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan, has a huge following which began with his father’s spiritual-social work that included de-addiction camps and water conservation, mainly in the MMR. Almost all political parties seek the blessings of the Dharmadhikari family, and in 2008, the then Congress-NCP government conferred the Maharashtra Bhushan Award on Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari. CM Shinde and his family are followers of the Dharmadhikaris.

On Sunday, the political undercurrent at the programme was clearly visible when Shinde declared that the political establishment needed “support and inspiration from the spiritual establishment”, and this was seen in the presence of people at the function. Comparing Dharmadhikari to Modi, Shinde said that both showcased India to the world.

“Appasaheb Dharmadhikari has lakhs of followers but they are not committed to any political party or ideology,” said political analyst Abhay Deshpande.

“So proximity with Appasaheb could help the political leadership garner political support in elections. In the past, the Peasants and Workers Party in Raigad district fell when it lost its good equation with Dharmadhikari. Conversely, Sunil Tatkare, NCP MP from Raigad, became successful by maintaining good relations with him. Against this backdrop, the award ceremony with Amit Shah in attendance is expected to pay dividends.”

Bharat Gogawale, chief whip of the Shinde-led Sena, confirmed that Dharmadhikari’s followers would definitely support the Shinde-Fadnavis alliance in the coming election. “CM Shinde is a shree sadasya of Dharmadhikari’s organisation, and all followers love him, as he is the first CM from their family,” he said. “So they will definitely support him in the elections, as they know who works for them and the nation and religion.”

BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye, however, denied that the award was a political ploy. “Some things are beyond elections and politics,” he said. “The award ceremony should be seen as recognition of the work done by Dharmadhikari and his contribution to society.”