As the contest for the upcoming elections seems to be getting increasingly polarising, the state administration has stated that it is geared up to tackle any volatile situation. The five-cornered contest, high on passion, is likely to see one party better the other by being more vitriolic in their speeches — this has largely been the case until recently.
"We are hoping for the best and prepared for the worst. That is our job. A lot of reading is already happening to keep a check on the articles that appear and speeches that are being made. Naturally, we will be equally alert. We have a team that is monitoring all of this," said a senior official from the home department. Monitoring of the social media, speeches and write-ups in the papers were among things that officials said would be looked at carefully.
With agenda already drawn on communal lines, which is likely to overtake any other issue in the city, and to some extent in the state, citizens feel it is time that administration show their side. "Elections in different states have seen religion used in good measure and it could be used in Maharashtra too. Navratri an Eid will be around in the run up to the elections. With the government broken, the responsibility of the bureaucracy is far higher. In my constituency, we already have some five candidates affiliated with different communities. It is bad enough that they have split up, but hopefully, they will not get violent. But in their one-upmanship, I am hoping that law and order will not become a problem," said a Shyama Kulkarni, resident of Bandra.
"Absence of politicians, whom we often blame as supervisors of looking the other way, are not around. The bureaucracy is without any political interference now. In such a scenario, we are hoping that bureaucracy contains polarising that can affect the common man. The administration, hence, will have to play a big role here," said Shailesh Gandhi, resident of Santa Cruz.
"I will not be able to comment on political developments. But we take all possible measures to ensure proper law and order," said Nitin Gadre, chief electoral officer in state.
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