Mumbai: NCP-SP, BJP fight over AC trains plan

Central Railway discontinued 10 new AC train services in the wake of political opposition to them. Representation Pic/Ashish Raje

A MID-DAY report on the possibility of Mumbai's AC local trains getting a push with the BJP and Mahayuti government being back in power has triggered a massive debate, with the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) and BJP accusing each other of stalling and delaying the project.

The plan to convert Mumbai's local fleet into AC trains had been stuck due to political opposition from the NCP since August 2022 with the party's President Sharad Pawar calling for their complete withdrawal from the city and restoration of regular services for working-class commuters after which Central Railway (CR) discontinued ten new services, citing law and order issues. In July 2023, the NCP split into two factions with the group led by Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit later being allowed to use the original party's name and electoral symbol. The Sharad Pawar-led faction came to be known as the NCP-SP.

In September 2024, NCP-SP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the opposition was to the higher fare structure, not to AC trains per se, challenging Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to get it done.

‘Not opposed to AC trains'

Responding to mid-day's report, Crasto, on Monday, reiterated his stand in a fresh statement, saying the opposition was always to the enhanced fare structure, not trains themselves and that the party was fighting for Mumbai's commuters. "The fare of AC trains is more than that of regular locals, which is not acceptable by commuters. We are representing commuters and fighting for them," he told mid-day.

"Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw must walk the talk. A fake narrative was created in the name of Sharad Pawar when [the state government was] asked why Mumbai's AC local train plans were stranded. Will he implement the plans now that the BJP has the mandate in Maharashtra or find another excuse?" Crasto said.

BJP reaction

Reacting to this, the BJP on Tuesday lashed back at the NCP-SP, stating that it has a "bad habit" of opposing the BJP-led welfare schemes just because it is in the Opposition. BJP Chief Spokesperson Niranjan Shetty said, "Whenever the BJP introduces welfare schemes, the people's enthusiastic response to it causes pain in the stomach of the Opposition. But as the life of the people starts getting better with these schemes and BJP's popularity begins increasing, the Opposition, irritated by their own earlier stand, start making strange and lame excuses."

"As soon as Vaishnaw announced a welfare scheme to make all local trains in Mumbai air-conditioned, Sharad Pawar opposed it. The opposition to a welfare scheme by a veteran leader like Sharad Pawar, who has been a chief minister of Maharashtra and Union minister and has been in politics for a long time, was incomprehensible. In fact, it was expected that he would welcome the scheme. His party should not have politicised a matter related to welfare schemes at least," Shetty added.

"After a huge response from Mumbaikars to the plan announced by the Union railway minister, the sand began to slide under the feet of the NCP and they took a new stance. It is surprising that a leader who has been a Union minister can't understand that while people are getting the benefit of technology, we can't avoid its costs. It is not possible to avoid the necessary expenditure of any technology-driven welfare scheme," he said.