Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee
The state of Maharashtra was formed on 1 May 1960, and since then its politics have been evolving. The INC was long without a major challenger, and enjoyed overwhelming support from the state's sugar co-operatives and thousands of other cooperative organizations involved in the rural agricultural economy of the state such as marketing of dairy and vegetable produce, credit unions etc. Since 1930s when Keshrao Jedhe joined the Congress party, the politics of the Bombay state and its successor Maharashtra state has been dominated by the mainly rural Maratha-Kunbi caste. This group dominates the cooperative institutions and with the resultant economic power, control politics from the village level up to the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats. Since 1980s, this group has also been active in setting up private educational institutions. Major past political figures of Congress party from Maharashtra such as Keshavrao Jedhe, Yashwantrao Chavan, Vinayakrao Patil, Vasantdada Patil, Shankarrao Chavan Keshavrao Sonawane and Vilasrao Deshmukh have been from this group.
Sharad Pawar, who had been a towering figure in Maharashtrian and national politics belongs to this group. The state's political status quo was upset when Sharad Pawar defected from the INC, which he perceived as the vehicle of the Gandhi dynasty, to form the Nationalist Congress Party. This followed disputes between Pawar and the INC president Sonia Gandhi. This offshoot of the Congress party split the Maratha community support.
In the last thirty years, however, Shiv Sena and the BJP began gaining a foothold in the state of Maharashtra, especially in the urban areas such as Mumbai. Shiv Sena and the BJP came into the power in 1995, which was a big blow to the INC. After one term, however, the Congress-NCP alliance regained power and held it until 2014. The INC contested the 2014 state assembly election without getting in a formal alliance with the NCP and lost power to the BJP.Shri Madan Bhargad
History of Mumbai
The islands were incorporated into the Maurya Empire under Emperor Ashoka of Magadha in the third century BCE. The empire's patronage made the islands a centre of Hindu and Buddhist religion and culture. Buddhist monks, scholars, and artists created the artwork, inscriptions, and sculpture of the Kanheri Caves in the mid third century BCE and Mahakali Caves. After the decline of the Maurya Empire around 185 BCE, these islands fell to the Satavahanas. The port of Sopara (present-day Nala Sopara) was an important trading centre during the first century BCE, with trade contacts with Rome. The islands were known as "Heptanesia" (Ancient Greek: A Cluster of Seven Islands) to the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150 CE. After the end of the Satvahana rule in 250 CE, the Abhiras of Western Maharashtra and Vakatakas of Vidarbha held dominion over the islands. The Abhiras ruled for 167 years, till around 417 CE. The Kalachuris of Central India ruled the islands during the fifth century, which were then acquired by the Mauryas of Konkan in the sixth and early part of the seventh century. The Mauryas were feudatories of Kalachuris, and the Jogeshwari Caves were constructed during their regime between 520 and 525. The Greek merchant Cosmas Indicopleustes visited Kalyan (near Mumbai) during 530–550. The Elephanta Caves also dates back to the sixth century. Christianity arrived in the islands during the sixth century, when the Nestorian Church made its presence in India. The Mauryan presence ended when the Chalukyas of Badami in Karnataka under Pulakeshin II invaded the islands in 610. Dantidurga of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty of Karnataka conquered the islands during 749–750.
The Silhara dynasty of Konkan ruled the region between 810 and 1260. The Walkeshwar Temple was constructed during the 10th century and the Banganga Tank during the 12th century under the patronage of the Silhara rulers. The Italian traveler Marco Polo's fleet of thirteen Chinese ships passed through Mumbai Harbour during May — September 1292. King Bhimdev founded his kingdom in the region in the late 13th century and established his capital in "Mahikawati" (present day Mahim). He belonged to either the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri in Maharashtra or the Anahilavada dynasty of Gujarat. He built the first Babulnath temple in the region and introduced many fruit-bearing trees, including coconut palms to the islands. The Pathare Prabhus, one of the earliest settlers of the city, were brought to Mahim from Patan and other parts of Saurashtra in Gujarat around 1298 by Bhimdev during his reign. He is also supposed to have brought Palshis, Pachkalshis, Bhandaris, Vadvals, Bhois, Agris and Brahmins to these islands. After his death in 1303, he was succeeded by his son Pratapbimba, who built his capital at Marol in Salsette, which he named Pratappur. The islands were wrested from Pratapbimba's control by Mubarak Khan, a self-proclaimed regent of the Khalji dynasty, who occupied Mahim and Salsette in 1318. Pratapbimba later reconquered the islands which he ruled till 1331. Later, his brother-in-law Nagardev for 17 years till 1348. The islands came under the control of the Muslim rulers of Gujarat in 1348, ending the sovereignty of Hindu rulers over the islands.