Why Mumbai’s Iconic Racecourse Has Become The Field Of A Multi-Front Political Battle

The main political battle in Mumbai for the last one week has been over the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. 

The iconic racecourse became the centre of a political controversy for the first time in 2013, when the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena wanted to convert it into a park.

Now, even as the buzz is that the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wants to make a theme park at this same place, the first note of protest has been struck by Aaditya Thackeray. 

Before we get into the details of the controversy let’s understand a few things about this racecourse: 

• The racecourse is spread across 225 acres of prime land in South Mumbai.

• The racecourse land was leased to Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) by BMC in 1914 for a period of 99 years, which expired 10 years ago. 

• In 2013, the BMC, which was handled by Udhhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, decided not to extend the lease and expressed its interest to convert the property into a park.

This is where the controversy was born, the BMC didn't renew the lease, and for the last ten years the BMC didn't even collect the rent. Now the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has asked the BMC to collect the due rent from the RWITC for the last 10 years. 

Amidst this, reports emerged that the BMC is writing to the state government seeking its permission to have a theme park on the entire land leased out to RWITC.

Of the entire 8.55 lakh sq m that has been identified as a Grade II-B heritage site, the BMC owns one-third, the rest of the land belongs to the Maharashtra government. Sources claim that the letter to convert the race course into a theme park has been on the BMC Commissioner I S Chahal's table for almost a week now.

While the government hasn't yet received the letter, the controversy has erupted. Aaditya Thackeray, in whose constituency the racecourse falls, took to social media and opposed the move. He tweeted, "The Mahalaxmi Racecourse is an integral urban open space of Mumbai and part of every Mumbaikar’s lives. Uddhav Thackeray ji had proposed a park like “The Hyde Park” where everyone would have free, open access to a green open space, without any construction." (sic)

Aaditya further tweeted, "The racecourse also holds heritage within it. The idea was to create an urban green space open for children, elderly, runners, yoga lovers, music lovers, artists and pets and horse lovers too. A free open urban green park for all. Now we read that khoke sarkar wants to build a theme park. It’s unfortunate that they want to destroy Mumbai’s open spaces. Just like they want to sell Worli Dairy to builders, they want to sell racecourse to commercial interests who want to monetise our city."

Aaditya claimed, "We also hear that commercial interests are involved in Mulund’s proposed racecourse at tax payer’s expense. Khoke sarkar must be opposed in selling Worli Dairy to builders and racecourse land to commercial interests for Khokes.

This khoke sarkar works for builders and commercial interests, not Mumbaikars.They love to sell every square foot of our city, we will fight for every inch."

Aaditya's claim that the BMC is planning to buy private land in Mulund for the racecourse comes from various reports that have quoted BMC Commissioner I S Chahal stating that deliberations and discussion are on for an alternate racecourse at the Mulund's dumping ground. However, there's no official statement regarding buying of any land from a private entity for the same.

Even Krishna Hegde, spokesperson for the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde said that the government has not announced anything about a theme park at the racecourse; instead the government is asking the RWITC to give the rent for the last 10 years.

"Aaditya Thackeray and his party was the first one to talk about having a park at the racecourse, they accusing us of selling land to private developers is nothing but a joke. We all know why the MVA wanted to shift the Metro Carshed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg. It was to benefit private developers. Whatever decision will be taken on the racecourse shall be for the benefit of the common man," said Hegde.

Even other parties have jumped in the controversy. Former corporator and Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh claimed that any construction at the racecourse will not be accepted by the locals and there's a lot of opposition to it. "The BMC cannot spend any money to buy private land in Mulund for a racecourse as it isn't a public purpose project."

Is this all about racecourse, a theme park, or is it also about politics? As mentioned earlier, the racecourse falls in the MLA constituency of Aaditya Thackeray. Shinde and his camp has attacked Aaditya on several occasions and this move can also be seen as an attempt to intrude in his constituency. This has rattled Aaditya and hence he posted an essay on Twitter attacking the government in spite of no official confirmation yet of the theme park.

Meanwhile, some political pundits claim that the Shinde camp, while unsettling Aaditya, may also end up hurting the BJP. The BJP has a huge vote base in South Mumbai and the local elite have a liking towards the racecourse. 

The move of the theme park at the racecourse, though not on paper yet, has already become a controversy. The racecourse is also used by locals for morning walks and is the green lung for this part of the city. Any construction activity here may annoy the locals and of the six MLA constituencies in south Mumbai, two are represented by BJP, one by Shinde's Sena, two by Uddhav Sena and one by Congress. If the issue isn't settled then the impact may be seen in the BMC polls, which are expected to be held soon.