Why Mumbai’s Shivaji Park matters for Shiv Sena

This is where Shiv Sena Chief Balasaheb Thackeray spelled out the party's agenda, like the issue of Marathi manoos, Hindutva, and the party's position on various issues, says veteran Sena leader Gajanan Kirtikar

What has politics in Maharashtra got to do with Mumbai's Shivaji Park? A lot, historians and political analysts say.

Popularly known for being a cradle of Indian cricket – this is where batting legend Sachin Tendulkar cut his teeth in the game, the sprawling playground in the heart of Mumbai has been a rallying centre for many social and political movements that have shaped the state's history over the past century.

For Shiv Sena, though, it has a special place. Its founder late Bal Thackeray held his first political rally here on the day of Dussehra 56 years ago, an event that would recur every year thereafter. Thackeray would use these rallies to spell out the party's political agenda from time to time, hit out at his rivals, and offer motivational speeches to his followers, said veteran Sena leader and MP Gajanan Kirtikar.

When Thackeray died in 2012, he was cremated here. Sena workers call Shivaji Park 'Shiva-tirtha,' or a holy place, that now houses a memorial to Bal Thackeray.

That is why Shivaji Park turned into a new battleground between the two warring factions of the Shiv Sena, led respectively by Maharashtra's current chief minister, Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray who bowed out of office in June, after the former staged a rebellion. Shinde walked with an overwhelming majority of MLAs to form the new government in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Both sides are since fighting a bitter court battle over who has the right to the legacy of Shiv Sena and its founder leader Bal Thackeray. That fight turned uglier earlier this month when both sides decided to hold Dussehra rallies in Shivaji Park.

Fearing a possible law and order problem, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) denied permission to both factions, but on Friday the Mumbai High Court granted the Thackeray group permission for the rally. Thackeray's supporters erupted in joy, as they saw the court's ruling as vindicating their claim to being the real Shiv Sena.