In the crowded lanes of Dharavi and Sion Koliwada, a campaigner from Tamil Nadu told Mumbai's voters that their city belongs to the wider world and not to one state alone, and that it needs a unified hand at every level of government. The words struck a nerve in a city where belonging is among the oldest and most tender questions, and the reply came swiftly from a Marathi-identity leader who asked what standing a stranger had to speak for it. Here, as in many civic contests, the argument over a municipal budget has quietly become an argument over who gets to call a place home. The ballot is st
Raj Thackeray and Annamalai Trade Barbs Over BJP Leader's 'Not a Maharashtra City' Remark on Mumbai
"A rasmalai has come from Tamil Nadu. What's your connection to this place?"
Mark
Start simply. What did Annamalai actually say that caused this?
Mimi
Campaigning in Dharavi and Sion Koliwada, he said Bombay is not a Maharashtra city but an international city, and argued for a BJP mayor alongside Fadnavis and Modi.
Mark
And he backed it with budget figures?
Mimi
Yes. Over Rs 40,000 crore for Mumbai, Rs 19,000 crore for Bengaluru, Rs 8,000 crore for Chennai. His point was that big money needs capable administrators.
Luke
Those figures are his, as quoted. The reporting doesn't verify them, so I'd treat them as his claim.
Mark
How did Raj Thackeray respond?
Mimi
He questioned Annamalai's connection to Mumbai, called him a rasmalai from Tamil Nadu, and used the old Shiv Sena slogan "Hatao lungi bajao pungi."
Mark
Why does that slogan matter?
Mimi
It comes from Shiv Sena campaigns of the 1960s and 70s, so it deliberately pulls an older politics of Marathi identity into this campaign.
Luke
Worth noting that the source only says it references those campaigns. It doesn't say how it was received.
Mark
And Annamalai's reply?
Mimi
He called critics ignorant, used the Kamaraj comparison, and said he is a farmer's son who won't be scared off.
Luke
The threats, including the one about cutting his legs, are his account. We don't know who sent them or whether anyone has acted on them.
Il Polso
- A BJP leader's claim that Mumbai is 'not just a Maharashtra city' ignited a sharp row just as the BMC campaign was heating up.
- Raj Thackeray's jab calling him a 'rasmalai' from Tamil Nadu and his Shiv Sena-era slogan turned a policy pitch into a question of identity.
- Annamalai answered by calling his critics ignorant and offering a Kamaraj analogy, trying to show that praising a city does not erase those who built it.
- Threats he claims to have received have only hardened his resolve, and he insists he will visit Mumbai regardless.
- The clash is landing on the ground of Marathi pride, and its next turn will depend on his planned visit and how the campaign sets the city's identity.
In the crowded lanes of Dharavi and Sion Koliwada, a campaigner from Tamil Nadu told Mumbai's voters that their city belongs to the wider world and not to one state alone, and that it needs a unified hand at every level of government. The words struck a nerve in a city where belonging is among the oldest and most tender questions, and the reply came swiftly from a Marathi-identity leader who asked what standing a stranger had to speak for it. Here, as in many civic contests, the argument over a municipal budget has quietly become an argument over who gets to call a place home. The ballot is still ahead, and the larger question it raises is how a great city holds its many origins together.
In the Dharavi and Sion Koliwada neighbourhoods of Mumbai, K. Annamalai, a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, was campaigning ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections when he said Bombay was an international city, not merely a Maharashtra one. He argued that the city needed a 'triple-engine government' and a BJP mayor, backed by Devendra Fadnavis in the state and Narendra Modi at the centre, pointing to a budget above Rs 40,000 crore that dwarfed Bengaluru's and Chennai's.
The remark drew a quick response from Raj Thackeray of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. He questioned Annamalai's standing, mocked him as a 'rasmalai' from Tamil Nadu, and invoked a slogan that echoes the Shiv Sena campaigns of earlier decades.
Annamalai hit back on Monday, calling his critics ignorant. He compared it to Kamaraj, whom he praised as a great leader without ceasing to be Tamil, and said calling Mumbai world-class did not deny Maharashtrians their part in building it. He also turned on the Thackeray cousins, asking who they were to threaten him, and said he would come to Mumbai regardless of the threats he says he has received.
The details of those threats remain his own account. What is certain is the exchange itself, and with the municipal vote approaching, the row may shape how Marathi identity features in the campaign. His planned visit is the next thing to watch.
In the Dharavi and Sion Koliwada neighbourhoods of Mumbai, K. Annamalai, a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, was campaigning for the party ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections when he said something that set off a political row. "Bombay is not a Maharashtra city, but an international city," he told voters, arguing that the city needs what he called a "triple-engine government" to be run effectively.
His case was built around money and alignment. He asked for a BJP mayor in Mumbai, with Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister and Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. Mumbai, he said, is a global metropolis with a budget of more than Rs 40,000 crore. He set that against Bengaluru's budget of Rs 19,000 crore and Chennai's of Rs 8,000 crore, and said a city handling such sums needs capable people in administration.
The remark did not sit well with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Its chief, Raj Thackeray, questioned what standing Annamalai had to speak about Mumbai's affairs. He mocked him as "a rasmalai" who had come from Tamil Nadu and asked what his connection to the place was. He then added the line "Hatao lungi bajao pungi," which echoes slogans from Shiv Sena campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s.
Annamalai answered on Monday, describing those criticising his comments as "ignorant." He reached for a Tamil comparison to make his point: if he calls Kamaraj one of India's greatest leaders, he asked, does that mean Kamaraj is no longer a Tamil? In the same way, he said, calling Mumbai a world-class city does not mean Maharashtrians did nothing to build it.
He also turned directly on Raj Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena. Speaking at a press conference in Chennai, he asked who the two men were to threaten him, said he was proud to be a farmer's son, and accused them of holding meetings only to abuse him. "I don't know if I've become that important," he said.
Annamalai further claimed that the remark had brought him multiple threats. Some people, he said, have written that they will cut his legs if he comes to Mumbai. He said he will come regardless, and told his critics to try to stop him. If he were afraid of such threats, he said, he would have stayed in his village.
The source does not detail the threats or who made them; they are Annamalai's own account. What is on the record is the exchange itself: a Tamil Nadu BJP figure campaigning in Mumbai, a Marathi-identity party chief objecting to his standing, and a reply that dismissed the objectors. With the municipal elections approaching, the row may shape how Marathi identity features in the campaign, and Annamalai's planned visit to Mumbai is the next thing to watch.
Citazioni salienti
Bombay is not a Maharashtra city, but an international city.— K. Annamalai, BJP leader
If I were afraid of such threats, I would have stayed in my village.— K. Annamalai
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