Mahasangram Maharashtracha

Love him or hate him, ridicule him or praise him, if you are in Maharashtra you just can't ignore Raj Thackrey. He has managed to get the Maharashtra assembly elections revolve around him and in doing so has garnered immense publicity for his nascent party. Only in its 3rd election and MNS finds itself mentioned in speeches of leaders across the political spectrum. One look at the election manifesto of both the major alliances and you see the Raj footprint on it.
What Raj has done would make any army general proud; make the enemy fight on his terms. Whether it converts in electoral success is something that needs to be seen, but then we are in the thick of action and another 3 weeks time we will see if Raj Thackrey has managed to extend his clout which results in electoral wins and not just good runs.
If one believes his intentions are honest (only time can tell that), then he has achieved the first goal that is of getting the problem recognized, whether any action happens only time will tell, but for now, Marathi language has become the focal point. Why have we reached these state of affairs is something which Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena, BJP all should answer.
Also on the anvil are the issues of Farmer Suicides and Load Shedding. Over 28,000 farmers have committed suicide in state in last 10 odd years, who is responsible? Who benefited from the massive loan waivers which GoI declared last year - well not the farmers but the co-operative banks run by political honcho's. How was the farmer supposed to benefit when over 70% of loans are taken from Money Lenders. Loan waivers are not the way, I would like to believe no one wants a free lunch, what they want is an opportunity to make their daily wages through honest means - it translates into cultivable land, assistance to retain the fertility of land, irrigation water, assured electric supply, a free market for its products where the farmers benefit and not the intermediaries.
It’s been over 10 years since a power plant was commissioned in Maharashtra. Once a power surplus state today we are deficient to the extend of 30%. Yet there is no news of a new power plant being set in the state. Planning as usual is to address current needs, in 5 years time when the plants are ready the demand would have again outstripped production.
Yet both the manifestos talk about Maharashtra free of load shedding, but how are they going to achieve it. Considerable policy changes are needed, generation of power for that matter all infrastructure cannot be just left to state and centre - local civic bodies should have a greater say and control in developing in primary infrastructure. Today everyone is sharing a vision, but no action plan on how to achieve that vision.
On this backdrop, what Raj Thackrey talks (no not the bashing of UP and Bihari's), a need to have control over government - ways to hold government responsible for its duties and promises makes sense. Will he be able to deliver, who knows - does he deserve a chance - probably yes.