India, Aug. 25 -- With local body elections round the corner, political parties with a voter base in the Konkan are busy doling out freebies to Ganesh devotees travelling to their hometowns in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg for Ganeshotsav. Among the ruling parties, the Shiv Sena has arranged for 2,379 buses for over 100,000 devotees while the BJP has organised 550 buses and four trains for over 50,000 passengers. The opposition Shiv Sena (UBT), on its part, has provided over 200 buses.

Apart from the free travel, the Mahayuti has shelled out Rs.11.50 crore to fund celebrations and competitions for Marathi-speaking voters from Konkan living in Mumbai. According to a rough estimate, at least 40% of the over six million people originally hailing...