The two powerful explosions, a horrifying repeat of the 1993 serial blasts, ripped through South Mumbai’s prominent areas on the afternoon of Monday (August 25), killing at least 50 persons on the first count.

Monday, August 25. The country was rocked by explosions of different kind caused by beastly terrorism and shameless political opportunism in Mumbai and Lucknow. Mumbai, the financial capital of India, was struck by the shattering bomb blasts near the Taj Mahal Hotel at the Gateway of India and in the Gujarati-dominated Zhaveri Bazar; mainly with the early estimates putting the number of the dead at 50 and those injured at more than 150. Maharashtra’s Minister of State for Home Affairs, Rajendra Darda, called the Mumbai outrage, a few days before the celebration of the Ganesha festival, a major shock. There were many who compared the Mumbai blasts to the 9/11 terrorist attack on New York. Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde vehemently condemned the outrage. Condemnation of the terrorist attack on Mumbai also came from the US, British and even Pakistani governments. The Prime Minister felt that there was the terrorists' hand behind the blasts and Advani considered the outrage "alarming". The Congress chief called it the work of anti-national forces. A nationwide alert was sounded, including red alerts in Delhi, Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Intelligence agencies also feared that Kolkatta, Bangalore and Chennai could be the most target of the terrorists.

Analysts and terrorism experts felt that the Mumbai blasts could be the handiwork of the Pak-based radical Islamic terrorist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad , Lashkar-e-Toiba and their closer terrorist contingents in the SIMI and the Ghatkopar group - highly educated and sophisticated Al Hadees.

The two powerful explosions, a horrifying repeat of the 1993 serial blasts, ripped through South Mumbai's prominent areas on the afternoon of Monday (August 25), killing at least 50 persons on the first count. The two blasts occurred several kilometers apart, but within an interval of a few minutes. As a first reaction, the Mumbai Police Commissioner B.S.Sharma said it could be a "jehadi" group. He also said that the blasts were the seventh such outrage in a series of explosions that had rocked Mumbai since December 2, 2002.

While terrorists were striking Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh’s irrepressible BSP Chief Minister Mayawati was planning a political explosion in Lucknow, "the country's hot-bed of politics" by rushing to Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri and recommending the dissolution of the State Assembly so that a fresh election could be ordered. This "Maya Bomb" was planned, barely 15 months after the "Maya Raj" coalition comprising BSP, BJP and a few marginal allies, was formed to run an uneasy and ever-bickering government in the country’s largest state. But this time the BJP, well experienced with the ways of the Maya, was quick to forestall her. Her "Bhai" from the BJP, Lalji Tandon, led a group of his party to the Governor, before Maya could make it to the Raj Bhawan, and submitted the withdrawal of his party’s support to Mayawati. So, the "Maya Bomb" exploded but the real casualty seemed to be her own government of distrust, intrigue and terror. In the rally addressed by her on the same Black Monday, she made allegations against her coalition partners, offered carrot and stick to all political parties and the breakaway factions and also made a public declaration of threats from the CBI, her erstwhile coalition partners and said there could be a threat to her life too. But she had made so many allegations and stunning declarations earlier that there were few takers for her tales of woe. The ball was now in the court of the Governor, who could exercise his own jurisdiction and discretion to either explore the formation of an alternative government, stable and workable, or accept Maya’s recommendation, dissolve the assembly and order a fresh election .The election authorities were quick to announce that they could hold elections in Uttar Pradesh in November or December, if it became necessary.