Junior Thackeray hits the street

As the political turmoil intensifies in Maharashtra, Aaditya Thackeray is reaching out to Shiv Sena workers

From visiting a Shiv Sena worker in hospital to holding a meeting with party workers in a rebel MLA’s constituency, Yuva Sena chief and Maharashtra’s Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray seems to have taken it upon himself to connect with the party organisation in a bid to control the party’s biggest-ever collapse.

“Those who ran away are calling themselves rebels. Had you been real rebels you would have dared to come face to face and told us about your intention. Those who have left, should resign and contest the elections. Show us if you can win this election without Shiv Sena. We will defeat you,” Mr. Aaditya said at a party meeting in Mumbai on Sunday.

Mr. Aaditya is facing an uphill task of regrouping the party that is struggling after 39 of its MLAs deserted it to join hands with rebel second-in-command Eknath Shinde. In a bid to avoid a vertical split within the party organisation, Mr. Aaditya seems to have stepped up as party president and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s fragile health may bring restrictions on the latter’s movements.

Appealing to party workers to strongly reply to the ‘betrayal’, the junior Thackeray has been using aggressive language in his speeches, making it a point to visit places and boosting the confidence of party workers from the areas where the MLAs have ditched the party and joined the rebel group.

On Monday, he visited families of police personnel residing in BDD chawls in his Assembly constituency of Worli and made the announcement of reducing the construction cost of to be newly redeveloped homes to ₹25 lakh instead of the earlier ₹50 lakh. He also travelled to the neighbouring Karjat to visit a party worker admitted in hospital after being attacked.

“He is not meeting workers and travelling for the first time. But there is qualitative difference between the two. Earlier, he was focused on Yuva Sena, this time it is Shiv Sena. Preference given to the new, Yuva Sena cadre within the party is one of the reasons of present condition of the party. The old guards wanted more say in matters of governance and party organisation,” said Sanjay Patil, researcher at the civics and politics department of Mumbai University.

According to M.r Patil, who has written a thesis on the Sena, the lack of access to the leadership is not a two-and-half-years-old phenomena in the party.