Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray, the successor of the late Shiv Sena Supremo, Balasaheb Thackeray is now at the centre stage of Maharashtra politics. Lke his father, Uddhav too is not succumbing to any political pressure of the oldest alliance partner the BJP. The BJP has become more assertive after the spectacular victory in the recent parliamentary elections.
After an ugly open war with his cousin Raj Thackeray, who left to launch his own political outfit the MNS and the death of his father, Uddhav retained the Shiv Sena and has not allowed the party to disintegrate. Proving his detractors wrong, he quietly consolidated his power by increasing the Shiv Sena network across the state.
However, he is considered a sober and gentle politician when compared to his rabble rousing father. The BJP was under the impression that he would now easily give in to their demand and prepared a list 59 Assembly constituencies with low vote share for the Shiv Sena to discourage him.
During his first visit to Mumbai, the over confident BJP President Amit Shah, had no scheduled to visit Matoshree, the residence of the Thackeray family, which has been a tradition followed by the party. Both, Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde had strictly followed this protocol.
Uddhav Thackeray was angered by this and felt that the BJP had never given any respect to him and to his party. Despite the long standing partnership of over 25 years and winning 18 parliamentary seats, the Shiv Sena was forced to accept not so important heavy industries portfolio by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Lok Sabha results.
Thackeray proved that he is a true son of Balasaheb, and sent a strong message that he could not tolerate any disrespect to him or his party. He has clarified time and again that he did not aspire to be the Chief Minister at the cost of the alliance. But it was his decision to demand the CM post is being seen as a clever strategy to safeguard the identity of the Shiv Sena, as its position in Maharashtra could be in a danger because of assertive nature of the BJP.
In a sudden turn of events, Uddhav, a soft spoken leader has taken a very a rigid stand, surprising even his own party leaders. Until it was believed that only his cousin Raj was capable of taking strong stand like the late Sena Sena Supremo. However, the general public seems to be in support of the stand taken by Uddhav. It has elevated his stature among the common people. Maharashtrians always gave priority to their Marathi 'Asmita' over the development. If Uddhav stands for elections, there is a strong possibility of Shiv Sena gaining power without the support of the BJP.
The decision by Uddhav to contest is the Assembly election is being seen as a welcome gesture by the rural folks, as they see it as an opportunity to oust the Congress and NCP from Maharashtra. The BJP propaganda to project Uddhav as a power hungry leader has not gone down well with the common people. They have a very positive opinion about the son of senior Thackeray.
Historically, the relationship between the Gujaratis and Shiv Sena followers has never been cordial. It may be recalled that the agitation of Samyukta (United) Maharashtra which was started in the 1960's was actually against the Gujarati cotton mill owners. Most of the Mumbai's cotton mill owners were Gujaratis who allegedly always supported the British and after the freedom they supported an independent Mumbai outside Maharashtra.
Whereas, the cotton mill labourers were Marathi people, who supported the Shiv Sena. After fifty years, the stand taken by Uddhav in the name of Marathi people is being seen as a masterstroke. The Shiv Sena has already started a public tirade against the BJP president Amit Shah. Uddhav Thackeray has taken this bold step knowing it well that it is a very big gamble. Uddhav has decided to fight with the killer instinct like his father Balasaheb Thackeray. As there is a widespread acceptance and love for the Thackeray dynasty and with a strong network at every nook and the corner of the Maharashtra, it seems that the Shiv Sena will have an upper hand in the coming elections.
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