Mumbai: BJP's good showing in local polls, mammoth Maratha community marches after rape and murder of a girl and exit of senior minister Eknath Khadse from the state cabinet after a series of corruption charges were some of the developments that dominated Maharashtra's political landscape in 2016.
The year also saw the Devendra Fadnavis-led government grappling with issues like acute water scarcity, prompting operation of a 'water train' to Latur in Marathwada region.
Eknath Khadse’s Exit
Khadse resigned in June, after a series of charges, including alleged links with mob boss Dawood Ibrahim and involvement in multi-crore land scam in Pune.
Khadse, 64, was the the first high profile 'casualty' since the BJP wrested power at the Centre and the state in 2014. A panel headed by a retired Bombay High Court judge was set up to look into the Pune MIDC land deal in which Khadse's kin appeared to have a conflict of interest. It was given three months to investigate and was granted an extension later. It is yet to submit report.
Fadnavis publicly gave a 'clean chit' to Khadse and asserted he would be soon back in the Cabinet if the panel finds him innocent.
Municipal Polls
Demonetisation did not affect BJP's performance in last month's municipal council polls in Maharashtra. In what was touted as a referendum of sorts on the Modi government's ambitious move, BJP came out on top, notching up the highest number of seats (893 as against 396 in the 2011 polls).
BJP won 51 of the 147 municipal councils that went to the polls on November 27. This was the first time after 2001 that direct elections were held for council presidents.
It was followed by Shiv Sena with 25, Congress 23 and NCP with 18 posts. Eleven Independents and 19 other candidates were also elected as municipal council presidents. BJP and Sena made the inroads at the cost of Congress and NCP, which have traditionally dominated local body polls.
Maratha Politics
The year also saw 'mook' (silent) morchas by the Maratha community, which comprises around a third of the state's population.
After holding almost 30 silent morchas across Maharashtra, the Maratha Kranti silent morcha entered Mumbai, the country's commercial capital, in November in form of a bike rally.
The Maratha reservation issue figured in the winter session of Maharashtra legislature, with Fadnavis assuring the legislators that the state government was committed to providing reservation to the agitating Maratha community.
Maratha leaders are also demanding amendments to the controversial Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, alleging it is being blatantly misused by Dalits to settle personal scores.
The State Cabinet expansion in July saw 11 ministers taking oath as the Fadnavis government gave a greater representation to Marathas and Dhangar community. Besides BJP, allies Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Samaj Party and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana also got representation in the expansion. Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale was inducted in the Union Cabinet in July, boosting morale of his party workers in Maharashtra.
In June, noted ophthalmologist and social worker Vikas Mahatme and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, were nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The move was seen as a political strategy of social engineering to convey the BJP's commitment to welfare of Dhangar and Maratha communities.
Former chief minister and Congress leader Narayan Rane was among the 10 candidates who got elected unopposed to Maharashtra Legislative Council in June.
The rape and murder of a minor at Kopardi in Ahmednagar district prompted some legislators picking on critically-acclaimed Marathi movie "Sairat", which lays bare the social reality of caste and the honour killings resulting from such inter-caste elopements.
"Sairat", which was released this year, received a massive response in Maharashtra was the story of love between a Dalit boy and a girl belonging to the dominant, upper caste Maratha community. NCP MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said it was creating fissures between various sections in society.
Despite BJP and NCP being locked in a bitter fight in the state, there were occasions when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar lauded each other.
"Pawar has completed 50 years of either being an MLA or MP, which is a legacy in itself in Indian politics. I have no hesitation in accepting that Pawar held my hand and taught me to walk in my early days in Gujarat," Modi said.
In February 2015, Modi had visited Baramati, Pawar's hometown, to inaugurate a Krishi Vigyan Kendra building and also had lunch at the NCP chief’s home.
Water Woes
The 'Jaldoot' train supplying water from Miraj town to Latur in Marathwada made its 111th and last trip in August. Since its first run in April to then parched Latur, the train delivered 2.79 crore litre water to the drought-affected town.
The train, run jointly by Indian Railways and state government, comprised 50 wagons of water, and was operated from Miraj junction to Latur, 340 km away. The Latur civic body had stopped water supply through taps in February, after its reservoirs ran dry due to acute water scarcity in Marathwada.
In April, the water shortage prompted the Bombay High Court ordering the shifting of 13 IPL matches out of drought-hit Maharashtra.
Controversies
Senior Maharashtra ministers Pankaja Munde and Mahadev Jankar courted controversy over their remarks.
Pankaja, Women and child development minister, found herself mired in a controversy with the emergence of an audio clip in which the BJP leader is reportedly heard 'threatening' a priest of Bhagwangad hill shrine to allow her to make a speech on Dussehra.
Pankaja, daughter of late Gopinath Munde, was heard in the clip purportedly saying that false cases would be lodged against the supporters of Namdev Shastri Maharaj, who had asked her not to make political speech at Bhagwangad during Dussehra celebrations.
Jankar was in limelight over his remarks against NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Dhananjay Munde at Pankaja's rally in Ahmednagar district in October and the following month, for allegedly asking the returning officer to reject the nomination form of a Congress candidate for the Desaiganj municipal council poll.
The State Election Commission ordered a probe, after Congress workers submitted the purported video clip of Jankar's interaction with the returning officer as proof.
In October, facing heat over 'brokering' a deal between producers of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Fadnavis maintained he had opposed the offer of Rs 5 crore contribution from the filmmakers to the army welfare fund, but defended his intervention to resolve the issue.
Two months later, actor Shah Rukh Khan, whose film "Raees" was in the eye of a storm due to the presence of Pakistani actor Mahira Khan in it, met Raj Thackeray at the MNS chief's residence in Mumbai.
The meeting came amid Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's opposition to the working of Pakistani artistes in India. "SRK assured me that rumours about Mahira promoting Raees are false," Raj said.
The ongoing bickering between ruling allies BJP and Shiv Sena took a violent turn in October after BJP MP Kirit Somaiya was attacked during a 'Ravana dahan' (burning of Ravana effigy) in Mulund, which he had organised. Five Shiv Sena workers were arrested. The Ravana dahan depicted alleged corruption in Shiv Sena-ruled BMC.
Ahead of the crucial Mumbai municipal corporation polls, due early next year, a 'poster war' erupted between the BJP and Sena over the issue of demonetisation and black money. While a poster put up by the BJP showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving blessings from late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, a counter poster put up by its ally taunted BJP saying it finally remembered the Sena patriarch.
Former Shiv Sena legislator Suresh Gambhir joined the BJP in December, ahead of BMC polls.
Senior NCP leaders Nawab Malik and Sanjay Dina Patil, who had accused each other of violence during a party event in November, resolved their differences at a meeting called on the directions of party chief Sharad Pawar.
BJP and Congress emerged as the big gainers in polls to six seats of Maharashtra legislative council in November.
The Congress tally in the 78-member House went up to 20 while the NCP's strength has come down to 23 from 26. The BJP has taken its tally to 17 and Shiv Sena to 9 after the elections.
As the year drew to an end, there was news for college and university students as after a 22-year lull, they can participate in campus politics and elections, with the passage of the New Maharashtra Public Universities Act by the state legislature in December.
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