Mumbai: After Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, now the ghost of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysuru, has come to haunt Maharashtra’s politics. The latest flashpoint has come after a remark by Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal where he equated the valour of Chhatrapati Shivaji to that of Tipu Sultan.
Sapkal told media Saturday: “The kind of bravery that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj possessed, and the concept of ‘Swarajya’ that he introduced… much later, following in that very tradition and taking inspiration from his ideals, Tipu Sultan waged war against the British. In that sense, Tipu Sultan was a great warrior who displayed immense bravery and was a true son of India. He never allowed any poisonous or communal ideas to sway him. As a symbol of bravery, we should view Tipu Sultan as equivalent to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.”
Although Sapkal later clarified saying he meant Tipu Sultan followed the Swarajya ideal of Chhatrapati Shivaji in his fight against the British, the BJP protested outside Congress Bhavan in Pune Sunday. Nine people were injured when the protests escalated to stone pelting.
This erupted in a major controversy where the Congress and Shiv Sena UBT are accusing the BJP of alleged double standards on Tipu Sultan. The Opposition claims that a decade ago, the BJP had proposed naming a road in the city after Tipu Sultan. But the BJP denies this.
Congress on its official social media page on X wrote, “In 2013, a proposal was submitted by BJP corporators to name Shivajinagar Road No. 4, which starts from Bajiprabhu Deshpande Marg in the M/East ward of Mumbai and extends to Rafi Nagar Nullah, as Shaheed Tipu Sultan Marg.”
The Congress says that this proposal was presented by the then BMC standing committee, (of which current mayor Ritu Tawde was the member) and BJP Mumbai president Ameet Satam had seconded it.
मुख्यमंत्री देवेंद्र फडणवीस तुम्हाला लाज वाटतेय का ?
२०१३ मध्ये मुंबईतील एम/पूर्व' विभागातील बाजीप्रभू देशपांडे मार्गापासून सुरु होऊन रफीनगर नाल्यापर्यंत जाणाऱ्या शिवाजीनगर मार्ग क्र. ४ ह्यास 'शहीद टिपु सुलतान मार्ग' असे नाव देण्याबाबतचा प्रस्ताव भारतीय जनता पक्षाच्या… pic.twitter.com/HjdUvlHOcM
— Maharashtra Congress (@INCMaharashtra) February 15, 2026
The Shiv Sena UBT mouthpiece Saamna said, “In BMC, documents suggesting BJP’s ‘love’ for Tipu are available for anyone to see. BJP has used Tipu Sultan for their political gains multiple times in the past and now they have dug his grave. But sadly, they themselves fell in that grave.”
But BJP minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha denied this. Speaking to reporters Monday, Lodha said, “We have never proposed Tipu Sultan’s name any where. In fact, we have always opposed naming gardens or roads after him. So I am not aware of all this.”
Also read: How BJP has brought Tipu Sultan to Wayanad & sparked a row over a town named after his artillery
The ghost of Tipu Sultan
Opinion on Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysuru, is divided. His supporters see him as an anti-colonial hero who led the fight against the British. His critics, often the Hindutva brigade of VHP and Bajrang Dal, describe him as a bigot and religious persecutor.
In 2021, Samjawadi corporator Ruksaana Siddique had written to the BMC’s garden and markets committee asking that a garden in Govandi be named after Tipu Sultan. This was met with stiff opposition from the BJP.
During MVA rule, in 2022, then guardian minister of Mumbai and Congress leader from Malvani Aslam Shaikh inaugurated the garden and named it after Tipu. The move saw the BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal erupt in protests.
The year after the Mahayuti government came to power in the latter half of 2022, then guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha removed Tipu Sultan’s name from the garden.
In 2023, ThePrint had reported clashes between Hindutva groups and local Muslim residents in Kolhapur after an allegedly objectionable post and audio message was shared on social media. The police had arrested seven people.
What led to the current controversy?
The current controversy began Saturday when a portrait of Tipu Sultan was hung in the office of Malegaon deputy mayor Shan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed.
“The portrait was gifted to me by my corporators. I don’t have any objection to it. Tipu Sultan was a freedom fighter who battled the British. Even the government has mentioned this in an affidavit after some people approached the courts seeking a ban on celebrating Tipu Sultan’s birthday,” the deputy mayor had said.
But it was removed after the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, part of the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra, objected to the portrait.
However, Malegaon deputy Mayor Nihal Ahmed told the media that the portrait had been removed as the office was being renovated, and it would be replaced again.
“The first photo should have been of Mahatma Gandhi and then the architect of our Constitution Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Why should there be a controversy over Tipu Sultan? Didn’t he lose his life while fighting against the British?” she asked.
But Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal’s statement escalated the controversy. On Monday, he accused the BJP of using the Tipu Sultan issue to divert people’s attention from the lack of basic amenities and the contents of the Epstein files.
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant also hit out at the BJP, accusing it of “double standards” and pursuing an agenda of polarisation.
हा सूर्य आणि हा जयद्रथ
तसाच हे टिपू सुलतान आणि हे बावनकुळे…https://t.co/O2HrpKjzw4 pic.twitter.com/4M2E4cCWzF
— Sachin Sawant सचिन सावंत (@sachin_inc) February 15, 2026
He cited several instances to claim that BJP leaders had earlier supported or endorsed references to Tipu Sultan in public spaces and official forums. He referred to resolutions in civic bodies in Akola and Mumbai, as well as past instances where BJP leaders had purportedly praised or associated with the historical figure.
AIMIM has also waded into the controversy and party leader Waris Pathan Sunday said, “What is the issue with him? His photo is in the Constitution, from 1950. You and I weren’t even born then.”
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also slammed the BJP and said that in the past (in 2017) President Ramnath Kovind had praised Tipu Sultan while addressing a Karnataka assembly session.
“When Ramnath Kovind was the President, he had gone to Karnataka and showered praises on Tipu Sultan. Why did the BJP not stop him then?” Raut asked.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Tipu Sultan was just as flawed but Marxist historians didn’t tell us that