After nearly three decades, ex-Congresswoman Priyanka V Chaturvedi’s grand entry to the Shiv Sena will bring a much-needed ‘glamour quotient’ to the Mumbai headquartered party.
The last time when a woman joining the Sena created waves was in early 1990s when the cricketer-turned-politician Chandrika Kenia-Jain, a former Congress minister and Rajya Sabha member joined the party for a short time.
However, more than the former Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi’s decision to quit the grand old party, it was her surprise decision to join the 53-year-old regional Shiv Sena that grabbed attention on Friday.
Sources said her decision was not abrupt, but was in works for the past nearly three weeks, before the Lok Sabha elections got under way, with the nod of Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray.
The Sena, enjoying a macho image, has long been devoid of a ‘soft demeanour’ that could further enhance its acceptance among the womenfolk, especially the urban educated, middle and the elite.
Chaturvedi’s decade-long experience in a high-profile national-level position with the country’s oldest political party, could prove advantageous for the Sena in the country’s capital.
On the ‘big catch’, Thackeray said elections come and go, what is important is the party’s ideology and that “Chaturvedi has accepted it by deciding to join the Shiv Sena.” Though her exact role is not yet clear, ‘sister’ Chaturvedi could be an asset while dealing with Sena’s big brother Bharatiya Janata Party and other NDA allies effectively at the Centre.
Among the options being weighed for her is a largely national role: helping the party expand in Delhi and other States — she might get a Rajya Sabha nomination in the near future — and roping her to build bridges with India Inc, a crucial aspect that has largely remained unattended by the Sena.
Chaturvedi, 39, left a national-level high-profile post as one of the AICC spokespersons at the height of 2019 Lok Sabha elections and accepted the Sena’s symbolic ‘Shiv Bandhan’ in the presence of a beaming Thackeray this afternoon.
