Uddhav, Raj Thackeray reunite but survival at stake

IT’s a desperate roll of the dice by Uddhav Thackeray, who heads a Shiv Sena faction, and Raj Thackeray, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief. Struggling to keep their parties afloat, the long-estranged cousins shared the stage at a rally in Mumbai on Saturday — for the first time in nearly two decades. They called it a ‘victory’ rally as it came days after the BJP-led state government did a flip-flop on the introduction of Hindi as the third language.

Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray’s son Uddhav and nephew Raj are banking on the “Marathi manoos” card to revive their political fortunes. They are accusing the BJP of dividing Maharashtrians on one pretext or another. Their fight, however, is not only against the saffron party but also the ‘official’ Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. It was Shinde who had brought about the downfall of the Uddhav-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in 2022 by joining hands with the BJP. The Thackeray reunion implies that Shinde cannot take Marathi voters for granted any more.

Both alliances in the state — the ruling Mahayuti and the Opposition’s MVA — are beset by internal differences. Maharashtrian politics has witnessed many twists and turns in recent years, and more are expected over the next few months in view of the state-wide local body polls. The cousins’ short-term goal is to gain a foothold in the high-stakes Mumbai civic body, even as a below-par poll show by Shinde’s Sena might weaken his position vis-a-vis CM Devendra Fadnavis. And it’s a moot point whether the Uddhav faction will take the plunge without the support of the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, both fellow MVA constituents. The Congress, too, is expected to take a call on going solo in some civic bodies. The fast-changing dynamics will make it harder for Uddhav and Raj to stay united and capitalise on Balasaheb’s legacy.

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