In the ongoing Maharashtra assembly budget session, there has been a lot of commotion in both houses of the legislature over certain emotional issues, mainly regarding religious or caste sentiments. While the budget session of the assembly is usually expected to see debates over financial and economic issues, Tuesday witnessed heated debates over emotional issues focusing on religious sentiments. The scene became so stark that even MLAs from the ruling side were seen holding various boards and banners, agitating outside the assembly as if they belonged to the opposition!

The last entire year has been that of an election campaign. In the first half of 2024, Lok Sabha elections happened, and towards the end of the year, there were the all-important Maharashtra assembly elections. So, the entire year, in a sense, was devoted to political campaigns and heated debates. What was witnessed were two types of polarisations that were, perhaps, encouraged by the two sides of the political divide. The Maha Vikas Aghadi, especially the Congress party, focused on the reservation issue for Marathas, which caused polarisation on a caste basis, while the other side focused on the Hindutva narrative, which caused religious polarisation.

It was as if one side encouraged some kind of polarisation and the only reply the other side of the political divide could give was to get into a different type of polarisation. So Maratha versus OBC polarisation was countered by Hindu versus Muslim polarisation. It is interesting to note that the late George Fernandes, the leader and convener of the National Democratic Alliance or the NDA, had once said in a speech that the Ram Janmabhoomi issue was mainly “fear-headed” by the BJP as retaliation against the polarisation caused by the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations by former prime minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh. It is as if a similar model on a polar scale is being played out in Maharashtra. One side going for caste-based polarisation and the other countering it by religious polarisation!

Last week, a controversy was raised over whether Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb should be allowed to exist. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal launched an agitation over this and protested in various cities of Maharashtra. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made a statement saying that he is strictly against glorification of Aurangzeb but because the Archaeological Survey of India, or ASI, has listed the Aurangzeb tomb as a protected site, legally speaking, he had to ensure that it is provided security. Some utterances by political leaders and the controversy have caused a tense situation in some cities of Maharashtra.

All this gives rise to the question: who, exactly, will benefit from polarisation? It is clear that polarisation creates tensions in urban and rural areas and leads to unnecessary damage to property, which is not good for a state like Maharashtra which wants to attract new investment. Ironically, the rhetoric over polarisation is being heard inside the state assembly, which is going through its budget session! Nobody seems to be speaking about the budget and the financial problems that the state is facing. With a debt of around Rs. 9 lakh crore and a revenue deficit of Rs. 45 thousand crore, the state seems to be in dire straits, but the politicians have no time to discuss that in the session. Instead, they are busy debating over the Mughal emperor's tomb, built over 300 years ago!

All this may, perhaps, be happening mainly because the BJP-led Mahayuti constituents feel that the Hindutva polarisation was the sole factor that gave them the edge in the recent assembly polls. After the huge debacle experienced by the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls of 2024, the BJP-led Mahayuti decided to go for two things: the first was the Direct Benefit Transfer schemes, or DBT, for the weaker economic sections of society, under which the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched and money was transferred to over two crore women in the state for many months; and the second was the polarisation drive branded as "Ek hai toh safe hai." These were clearly the only two factors that gave the Mahayuti a huge success in the assembly elections. Now the ruling parties realise that with the poor condition of the state's coffers, the DBT may have to be cut down. A reduction in the number of beneficiaries is clearly around the corner, so the only factor being driven hard by even ministers of the ruling alliance is religious polarisation. In the upcoming municipal polls and the district council polls, the Mahayuti obviously wants to drive mainly the "polarisation card", as the "DBT card" may not work anymore. This is what explains the current political situation in Maharashtra and why we see the things that are unfolding!

Rohit Chandavarkar is a senior journalist who has worked for 31 years with various leading newspaper brands and television channels in Mumbai and Pune