The Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena battle took yet another turn ahead of the festive season as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction got the nod to hold its Dussehra rally at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) ground in Mumbai — a location also sought by the Uddhav Thackeray camp. For the Shiv Sena, the Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park is a major annual event and while that stays the original choice for both factions, they had also filed an application seeking permission to use the BKC ground.
Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, while speaking to the media, demanded that the Thackeray camp should be allowed to use Shivaji Park as per the first-come, first-served formula applied by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) while granting permission to the Shinde faction.
“I have received information that the MMRDA has given permission to their camp. And it was said that they filed the application first. If this is the case, Shiv Sena filed the application for Shiv Tirth first. That’s why we should get permission. This filthy politics should be stopped. From Shiv Sena’s formation till last year, every Dussehra rally has been held at Shiv Tirth,” he said.
New flashpoint
Not one to back down, Uddhav Thackeray has said the Sena’s Dussehra rally will be held at Shivaji Park. “Shiv Sainiks from all over the state will reach for this rally. We do not know these technical things whether the government will give permission or not. We will rally,” ANI quoted the former Maharashtra chief minister as saying.
Taking a veiled dig at Eknath Shinde, he added, “The one who has loyalty in his blood is Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena has grown not by traitors but by the blood of Shiv Sainiks.”
According to a report in the Indian Express, the Uddhav Thackeray camp had submitted a formal application to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on August 22 seeking its nod for the October 5 rally. While senior BMC official Prashant Sapkale confirmed receiving the application, he had then said the matter will be decided once Ganesh festivities end smoothly.
Meanwhile, Deepak Kesarkar, the spokesperson of the Shinde-led rebel Sena MLAs, said the Maharashtra chief minister will comment on holding the Dussehra rally or not at an “appropriate time”, PTI reported.
Shivaji Park — Legacy of Bal Thackeray
Staking claim to Shivaji Park is not just a factional war; it sends a message to the party cadre about establishing who the “original” Sena is.
Since 1966, when Sena supremo Bal Thackeray founded the party, the Dussehra rally has been an annual tradition. On October 30, 1966, the firebrand leader used the Dussehra rally to lay out the agenda for the party and since then, the premises became synonymous with his rousing speeches.
Shivaji Park remained a stage for generations of Thackerays as Uddhav Thackeray, in November 2019, took oath as the Maharashtra chief minister at the premises, where his father was cremated in 2012. His son Aaditya’s political innings also began from the park in 2010 with a rally.
Rare misses
While the Sena has always been associated with Shivaji Park, there were some years when the party was unable to hold its annual Dussehra rally at the premises.
In 2006, incessant downpour threw a spanner in the Sena’s plans. This was repeated during the 2009 state assembly elections.
The Covid-19 pandemic also affected the rally over the past two years. It was held virtually in 2020, while the next year, Shiv Sainiks assembled in Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai’s Kings Circle to adhere to coronavirus protocols.
This year, all pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted. However, only time will tell if the Dusshera rally is held and which faction trumps the other to mark the victory of good over evil.
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