Sena mobilising youth wing to capture ‘lost ground’ in state
The Indian Express | 4 hours ago | 28-06-2022 | 12:45 am
The Indian Express
4 hours ago | 28-06-2022 | 12:45 am
Amid large-scale defections that the Shiv Sena has suffered with senior party leaders and MLAs raising a banner of revolt, the party is now mobilising Yuva Sena, its youth wing, in an attempt to reassert itself and capture lost ground across the state.In a meeting that took place last weekend soon after the rebellion, the core committee members of Yuva Sena, who are all mostly based out of Mumbai, were instructed to expand their focus on different districts across Maharashtra.The Yuva Sena leaders have been asked to tap into the student community as well as local Sena workers in the state in an attempt to consolidate the party’s support base. A number of leaders who have been tasked with the assignment are relatively young faces in politics and are deemed to be close to Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray.Some of the Yuva Sena leaders who have been tasked with this outreach programme are Amol Kirtikar, Amay Ghole, Suprada Phaterpekar, Durga Bhosale Shinde, Sheetal Devrukhkar, Ankit Prabhu, Rupesh Kadam, Rahul Kanal, Sainath Durge, Pravin Patkar and Pradeep Sawant.The members have been asked to first begin their outreach in state universities. With most universities having graduate constituency elections around the corner, experienced members from Yuva Sena have been asked to individually take over responsibility of one university each.“Only few leaders have rebelled but the party’s cadre remains strong at the ground levels. But this is the right time to reach till the rural levels of Maharashtra and identify new faces which may not be from political background,” shared a core committee member adding how Yuva Sena’s focus on Mumbai Metropolitan Region has been a point of criticism to have come up over the past few days.According to the core committee members, it is not just the party’s leadership which is seeing a change of generation. Even the new set of voters is identifying with Aaditya Thackeray’s vision for the Sena, they added.“Right now is the time to tap on this new image of Sena by connecting with the younger generation. And taking Yuva Sena’s reach to rural Maharashtra, through universities and student leaders, will ensure this,” added another core committee member.Yuva Sena was founded on October 17, 2010 with an announcement by Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in front of a large crowd at the party’s annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park maidan. The Yuva Sena was seen as a vessel to launch the political career of Aaditya Thackeray who has been heading the outfit since then.Apart from Aaditya, Varun Sardesai, who is a cousin of Aaditya, is another well known face of the Yuva Sena.Since its foundation, the sons of a number of Sena leaders, MLAs, MPs and others have joined the Yuva Sena and held prominent posts in the youth wing. Some of them are also sons of rebel MLAs and are now looking at weaning themselves away from the Yuva Sena.
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