Shiv Sena's U-turn on Marathi manoos?

Mumbai: What do you do when catering to the traditional Marathi manoos alone seriously hampers your chances of winning in the civic polls? Simple, you change the definition of Marathi manoos itself. Or that, at least, is the Shiv Sena solution.

On Saturday, during a Marathi band meet organised by the Yuva Sena to mark Marathi Diwas, the saffron party played a version of Jai Jai Maharashtra in Hindi which proclaimed that everyone who's stayed in the state for a significant period is a Marathi manoos.

This, say political observers, is proof that the party, known for its campaigns against south and north Indians, is broadening its horizons ahead of the BMC elections next year.

They point out that the MNS' division of the Marathi vote bank and its electoral victory in traditional Sena strongholds like Lalbaug, Parel and Dadar, has forced the upper echelons of the party to try out new permutations.

Sources said that the Yuva Sena has been assigned the task of getting people from all communities to vote for the party.

"The Sena was anti-south Indian, then it turned anti-north Indian, but now all this has reached saturation point. The party's traditional vote base has been reduced to a fraction of the original and hence it has been forced to try out new avenues. It has realised that it needs to lure as many voters as it can to win the BMC elections for it'll be left with nothing if it loses. Hence, all tricks seem correct to the party's leaders for now," said Jose George, professor of political sciences at the Mumbai University.

Writing on the wall

The party's softening stand on 'outsiders' was also evident when Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray went to meet the Union Railway Minister with his demands and the banners announcing them were put up not just in Marathi, but in Hindi and English as well.

The Other Side

Capt Abhijit Adsul, Shiv Sena MLA and Yuva Sena spokesperson, however, said, "We as a party, have always been clear that we cater to everyone. For us, a Marathi manoos is anyone who has been staying in the state for a long time and is a domicile resident. However, there are a few people who have been putting us into religious and regional categories, which is not true. We never go against anyone unless they are against us."