Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray during a press conference at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Mumbai on February 20, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI
With the Election Commission of India (ECI) giving the stamp of approval to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s camp as the legitimate heir of Shiv Sena, the beleaguered Uddhav Thackeray camp has a tough task ahead. Political observers in the State feel that Mr. Thackeray needs to be more accessible to people and address the Marathi identity rather than taking the Hindutva stand.
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A far-right Marathi regionalist and Hindu ultra-nationalist party, the Shiv Sena, formed by Mr. Thackeray’s father Bal Thackeray in June 1966, has now been taken over by rival Mr. Shinde following the ECI’s order.
The future of both factions — Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) — completely depends on the forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections as the BJP is keen to ‘destroy’ Sena’s influence in the State, says Surendra Jondhale, an analyst and political commentator.
Prof. Jondhale, who has closely watched the rise and fall of the Shiv Sena, said though there was no ‘Bow and Arrow’, the Shiv Sena (UBT) was armed with ‘Brand Thackeray’ and ‘sympathy’, but it was not going to help Mr. Thackeray unless he came out and tried to connect with the masses, especially in the rural areas.
“No doubt that there is a massive sympathy wave in favour of Shiv Sena (UBT), but unless there is a sustained effort to convert it into a solid vote bank the party appears to have marginal chances in the elections,” he said.
Piggybacking on the Hindutva plank with whip-up passions has very little scope in the BMC elections. “Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi tactfully avoided the Hinduvta and stressed only development aspects during his recent visits to Mumbai,” Prof. Jondhale observed.
Like how Bal Thackeray built the party on anti-Congress grounds, his 62-year-old son and successor will have to revamp the party not just on anti-Shinde sentiments, but also as an anti-BJP force, with a rigorous campaign. He should also talk about why his Sena was different when compared with the other two.
“Though the ECI’s decision is a major setback to Mr. Thackeray, this is a good opportunity for him to rebuild the party. He should launch a strong attack and not let the sympathy factor die down,” said analyst Hemant Desai said.
Mr. Desai also believes that the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, who is being attacked from all sides, should step out of Matoshree, the Thackerays’ residence in suburban Bandra, and start campaigning. “More people are likely to join the Sena in the coming days,” he said.
He said Mr. Thackeray should start controlling the party’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, who was causing more damage to the party and Mr. Thackeray also. “Mr. Raut has to be more careful with his statements and derogatory comments. I think it is time for the party chief to control him. He is causing more damage with his statements,” Mr. Desai said.
Recently, leaders from the Shinde camp said that Mr. Raut was doing “good work of destroying Uddhav Thackeray”. “He [Mr. Raut] is doing a good job of destroying Uddhav Thackeray. His work is slowly and steadily helping us. We wish him good luck. Our supporters have started filing complaints against him for his derogatory remarks made on Chief Minister Shinde,” chief whip of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Bharat Gogawale, said.
On Tuesday, even Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the Rajya Sabha member had a habit of making baseless allegations.