Mumbai
From taking e-reviews of the district administrations with jurisdiction over their home constituencies and conducting telephonic meetings with gram panchayat administrations and municipal commissioners to catching up on reading, exercise, and family time — leaders from Maharashtra who are not currently involved in the government’s decision-making process, are handling the lockdown one day at a time.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, who is staying at Silver Oak, his residence in Mumbai, is strictly adhering to the lockdown rules and is not conducting any meetings at his house.
“ I have been getting phone calls from outside India from students and workers who are stranded in other countries. Then I talk to the foreign affairs ministry and concerned authorities [in other countries]. I’m getting these phone calls from Kazakhstan, from Tashkent, Philippines, and several other countries,” he said.
Pawar has also been contacted for domestic emergencies from people across Maharashtra. “There are many problems with industrial workers and labourers, and they call me, so I try to find a solution and coordinate with the authorities concerned. There are no visitors but my telephone is continuously busy. Leaders from the state and district are giving me updates,” he said.
For MLA and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, this is the first time in years that he can spend days at a time in his constituency in Karad. “At other times, I am travelling between Mumbai and Karad, and even Delhi, for work. I do not get so many days together in my constituency. This is the first time in so many years,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}For MLA and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, this is the first time in years that he can spend days at a time in his constituency in Karad. “At other times, I am travelling between Mumbai and Karad, and even Delhi, for work. I do not get so many days together in my constituency. This is the first time in so many years,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Chavan said he is connected with the Satara district administration and village panchayats in his constituency, over the phone. He has also made suggestions to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, about allowing certain services to remain open during the lockdown in the state’s circular, such as wheat flour mills.
Chandrakant Patil, BJP state president said, “As a party, we are doing a lot of work. All day, we have audio bridges lined up. Around 450 BJP municipal corporators excluding those in Mumbai, were lined up on the audio brief today, from morning till 4pm. We took stock of work done so far, and work that is planned. For example, BJP has decided to aid 52 lakh people and distribute grains. There are 1.2 lakh BJP workers active through 650 mandals. Each Assembly constituency is divided into three mandals. Devendra Fadnavis and I are constantly in touch with them and coordinating all day,” Patil is presently in his constituency of Kothrud in Pune, for better coordination with party workers in his constituency. His family is in Kolhapur.
A senior member of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) told HT that party chief Raj Thackeray has been closely monitoring relief material distribution at the hands of his party workers across Maharashtra, and reviewing what needs to be done to aid the state to get through these tough times.
These leaders are also using this time to unwind and catch up on their reading, and exercise. “I am reading this book named Gandhi in Bombay: Towards Swaraj. Mahatma Gandhi had so many connections with Mumbai. The book is about the first time he came to Mumbai from South Africa. I was unaware that certain areas of Malad and Bandra have a connection with him and he stayed there,” said Pawar.
The NCP chief has also been taking walks in his home twice a day to keep up his stamina.
Similarly, Pratibha Patil, former President of India, who is living in Pune, said, “I read other books and follow the news.”
Patil is in the middle of reading two books. “One of them is called Man’s Search For Meaning, by Viktor E Frankl, which is a 1946 non-fiction book set during World War II. The second book is called Yashwant, about Yashwant Rao Kelkar, a Mumbai-based professor from National College who was instrumental in forming ABVP,” Patil said. “I had no time to read earlier and I had held onto both these books for a long time. Finally, I began reading them.”