Maharashtra's gleaming new face recognition system at Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai, was touted as a tech-savvy upgrade to streamline visitor access and curb unauthorised entries. Rolled out in early September amid the government's push for digital governance under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the biometric setup promised quicker processing for the thousands of daily visitors—from farmers seeking subsidies to officials filing reports—who flock from across the state. However, just weeks in, the initiative has backfired spectacularly, turning entry points into bottlenecks and drawing flak for its cumbersome data entry protocols and glitchy hardware. Officials admit the system, integrated with Aadhaar-linked databases, often falters under load, with facial scanners struggling to handle more than a handful of faces per minute, leading to queues snaking through the humid corridors.
Visitors now endure waits of up to 45 minutes—double the pre-digital era's manual checks—exacerbating frustrations in a building already strained by monsoon leaks and outdated infrastructure. A senior administrative officer, speaking anonymously, blamed "inadequate training for staff and poor internet bandwidth" for the mess, noting that manual overrides are frequent but slow. The irony is stark: what was meant to embody Maharashtra's "Digital First" agenda has instead amplified grievances, with social media flooded by videos of irate citizens stranded outside the iconic Gothic-Victorian structure. Critics, including opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, have seized on the debacle to mock the ruling Mahayuti alliance's tech ambitions, demanding a hybrid model or outright rollback. As the state eyes BMC elections next year, this administrative hiccup risks eroding public trust in Shinde's efficiency drive.
In a bid to fortify the Mahayuti coalition ahead of civic polls, Shinde's Shiv Sena faction is advocating a unified front, shunning solo runs to avoid diluting their collective muscle against the BJP's electoral machinery. Shiv Sena minister Gulabrao Patil articulated the strategy at a party conclave, stating, "The interest of Mahayuti is to remain together and contest together," echoing fears that fragmented campaigns could leave allies like Ajit Pawar's NCP and smaller partners vulnerable.
Leaders invoke the Marathi proverb "Zhakali mut savva lakhachi"—a clenched fist conceals treasures—to underscore unity's dividends, drawing from the 2024 state assembly sweep where joint efforts netted 235 seats. Yet, beneath the rhetoric lies unease: BJP's organisational edge, honed by RSS foot soldiers, could eclipse Shiv Sena's urban strongholds in Mumbai and Thane, reducing their post-poll leverage. With seat-sharing talks intensifying, Shinde's camp pushes for equitable allocations, warning that discord might revive "Operation Lotus"-style defections.
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The Jain community's ire is mounting over a spate of perceived slights by the Mahayuti government, from the crackdown on pigeon feeding at Girgaon Chowpatty—sacred to ahimsa principles—to the controversial relocation of elephant Madhuri from Kolhapur's Jain Math to the Ambani-backed Vantara sanctuary in Gujarat. These moves, coupled with linguistic tussles pitting Marathi mandates against Gujarati-Jain cultural assertions in business hubs like Bhuleshwar, have alienated a demographic pivotal to Maharashtra's diamond and textile economies.
At a tense Mumbai sammelan, senior gurus issued a veiled ultimatum to Shinde: address these "insensitivities" or face a community-backed political foray, potentially splintering votes in key urban seats. The admonition to "rein in overzealous officials" highlights deeper fault lines in a state where Jains, numbering over 1.4 million, wield outsized influence as philanthropists and voters. As Diwali approaches, the government's response could determine whether this rift festers into electoral backlash or fades into festive reconciliation.
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