The Indian Express | 2 days ago | 22-06-2022 | 02:45 pm
On June 19, addressing party members on the day the Shiv Sena turned 56, president Uddhav Thackeray spoke with pride about how the party had overcome “storms” to lead Maharashtra. Two days later, the Sena is struggling to survive what is indisputably its toughest storm yet.The challenger this time is the low-profile, soft-spoken senior leader and Cabinet minister Eknath Shinde, who like a true Sainik was valued for his roots to the ground, his rise up the ranks and, ironically, his loyalty.With two-third Sena MLAs seemingly with Shinde as of Wednesday morning, the Thackerays are facing the improbable scenario of being at the losing end in a party that drew its lifeblood from founder-supremo and larger-than-life Bal Thackeray, 10 years after his death.The loss will be even more galling as son Uddhav Thackeray controls not just the party at this time but also the government, and could end up losing chief ministership of a lucrative state like Maharashtra.It was on June 19, 1966, that the Shiv Sena was formed in Mumbai, on the central plank of prioritising “Marathi manoos” or sons of the soil. In the 1970s, this agenda was expanded to adopting Hindutva. Bal Thackeray or Balasaheb, as he was addressed, drew his strength from the OBCs and set up an entrenched shakha system that soon became the first stop for civilians seeking quick resolution for their grievances. The Sainiks would oblige with their way of instant justice, not shying away from using strong-arm tactics, further increasing their popularity.Eknath Shinde joined the Sena sometime in the 1980s, and soon found a mentor in Anand Dighe, a fiery Thane leader well-versed in the ways of the Sena. Apart from loyalty to Balasaheb, Shinde has continued to swear by the late Dighe, including in the hours since his rebellion.If one of his main grievances is said to be the Sena’s decision to ditch old ally BJP for the NCP and Congress, and the modulation of the party’s hard Hindutva image, there are several reasons Shinde’s revolt is more serious than others the Sena has bettered.The first such division was in 1991, when another firebrand leader, Chhagan Bhujbal, resigned from the party, walking out with over a dozen Sena members. Bhujbal cited the Shiv Sena’s opposition to the Mandal Commission recommending OBC reservation in higher institutions as a reason for leaving the party. But the real issue was that the OBC leader could not get along with Manohar Joshi.After leaving the Sena, Bhujbal joined the Congress. Later, when Sharad Pawar parted ways with the Congress to form the NCP, Bhujbal had joined him. The NCP rewarded him with deputy chief ministership and the Home portfolio in 1999, and in the current government, he is Minister for Food and Civil Supplies.The next signs of dissent in the Shiv Sena came when it became clear that Bal Thackeray was leaning towards Uddhav as his successor. This was formalised at the 2003 Sena conclave in Mahabaleshwar, where Uddhav was named the party executive president. The biggest blow was to Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj Thackeray, who saw himself as the natural claimant to the Sena supremo’s legacy.In July 2005, Narayan Rane who questioned the decision to pick Uddhav was expelled for ” anti-party activities”. A former CM with his base in coastal Konkan, Rane walked out of the party with a dozen MLAs and soon joined the Congress. In 2017, he quit the Congress saying the party had betrayed him. After a short stint at the head of his own party, Rane joined the BJP and was made a Rajya Sabha MP. Currently, he is Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Modi government.In December 2005, Raj Thackeray too left the Sena, resigning from its primary membership. Apart from the political impact, the move was symbolic as it showed a chink in the formidable Thackeray family front. “All I asked for was respect. But all I got was humiliation and insult,” he said in an emotional address after his resignation.Months later, on March 9, 2006, Raj Thackeray announced a new party named Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). With Bal Thackeray ailing but still in control of the Sena, Raj achieved less than he hoped. While some younger Sainiks gravitated towards Raj, who was more in the mould of Balasaheb than Uddhav, the old guard and most of the leaders remained with the family.In the years since, as the MNS dwindled to a single MLA in the House and very little presence on the ground, the Sena stood united. There were a few instances of individual leaders leaving, but none that caused it any sleepless nights.Then came 2019 and Uddhav Thackeray’s ascension as CM at the head of an unlikely coalition. The hope that this marked a new dawn for the Sena, which feared slipping into the shadows as partner BJP loomed bigger and bigger under Narendra Modi, died on June 21.
Share:
