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The Wire
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Mumbai Floods: Aaditya Thackeray, Varsha Gaikwad Slam BJP-BMC Over Civic Collapse
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Video Mumbai Floods: Aaditya Thackeray, Varsha Gaikwad Slam BJP-BMC Over Civic Collapse The Wire Staff 9 minutes ago Questions have also been raised about why there is no elected civic body in Mumbai and why local body polls have been delayed across Maharashtra. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now Mumbai witnessed severe waterlogging across South, Central and suburban areas despite it being just May. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and Congress MLA Varsha Gaikwad have slammed the BJP-run Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for complete failure in pre-monsoon preparedness. Questions have also been raised about why there is no elected civic body in Mumbai and why local body polls have been delayed across Maharashtra. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News The Thousands of Wells of Mumbai Serve its People, Birds and Animals Heavy Rains Lash Mumbai, Administration Issues Red Alert, Urges Citizens to Stay Indoors Yellow, Black, Blue: How Residents of Mumbai's Govandi Struggle with Dirty Water and an Apathetic BMC The Redevelopment of Dharavi will Destroy the Livelihoods of Those Who Work in Small Businesses After Tahawwur Rana's Extradition, Govt Appoints Team of Prosecutors to Conduct 26/11 Trial Bengaluru Rains Have Returned the Garbage We Carelessly Dumped Bombay HC Slams State, College For Rustication, Arrest of Student Over Post on Operation Sindoor The Same Modi Who Chided the UPA For 26/11 is Cracking Down on Those Asking Questions Over Pahalgam For 10 Hours, Fire Rages in ED Mumbai Office Housing Investigation Documents of High-Profile Cases View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
The Guardian
09-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Modi redrawing India's electoral map: deepening a dangerous north-south divide
When Narendra Modi's alliance won a narrow majority in last year's Indian election, it signalled his waning popularity after a decade in power. A victory in 2029 may seem unlikely. Yet his government's push to redraw parliamentary constituencies using post-2026 census data could tilt the electoral field in his favour. The process, known as delimitation, ensures each member of parliament represents an equal number of voters – a principle of democratic fairness. Since 1976, however, it has been frozen to avoid penalising Indian states that curbed population growth. If delimitation proceeds, Mr Modi's populous northern strongholds will gain seats, weakening the political clout of India's economically dynamic and culturally distinct southern cone. Its five states are governed by different parties but, critically, none belong to Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP). Southern states have long accused Mr Modi's government of bias in federal funding and project approvals. Last week's gathering of the south's political leadership in Delhi to protest against his move underscores the risk of backlash. India's north and south are worlds apart: the six largest northern states have 600 million people – twice the south's population – but lag far behind. Tamil Nadu thrives on industry, education and social mobility, with only 6% in poverty compared with 23% in Bihar. A child in Kerala has better survival odds than in the US; in BJP-run Uttar Pradesh (UP), they're worse than in Afghanistan. It makes sense to redistribute resources to alleviate poverty. But UP alone receives more federal tax revenue than all five southern states combined. Even if it grew faster than southern India, it would take decades to catch up in per capita income. For southern India, delimitation represents both economic and political marginalisation – being taxed more, represented less and sidelined in national policymaking. A recent paper by Paris's Institut Montaigne thinktank highlights how India's north-south divide is deepening due to economic, demographic and political disparities, stirring southern discomfort. It compares the situation to the EU's Greek debt crisis, where wealthier northern countries resented subsidising the poorer southern ones. The report considers Mr Modi's home state of Gujarat – a wealthy but highly unequal western region with slow population growth – but warns that the Hindi‑speaking north's larger populace and lack of socioeconomic progress will deepen tensions and drag the country down. The Indian economist Jean Drèze notes that while the BJP lost ground in the north in 2024, it gained in the south. He argues that if seats were redistributed by population while maintaining state-wise party shares, Mr Modi's coalition would have won 309 MPs, not 294, out of 543 – an edge in a tight race. Prof Drèze suggests Mr Modi may be pushing delimitation to lock in a lead in 2029, when rising discontent could threaten his hold on power. Southern concerns could be addressed by freezing seat allocations for decades to allow the north to catch up. However, Mr Modi seems to prefer expanding India's parliament to prevent any state from losing representation, while shrinking southern influence. Much hinges on the timing of India's census, a crucial tool for evidence-based policymaking. Already postponed due to Covid in 2021, further delays are increasingly difficult to justify – they obstruct welfare distribution, stall efforts to improve women's parliamentary representation and appear politically motivated. If delimitation proceeds before 2029 it could reshape India's political landscape to the BJP's advantage – but at the cost of a growing north-south rift that threatens to fracture the Indian union.
