The Maharashtra crisis deepens while the Thackeray heir and his dissenters fight for Balasaheb’s legacy

The political drama in Maharashtra is getting interesting every passing hour. The fear, however, is that it can become dirty in no time. In fact, Shiv Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s loyalists have already begun protesting against rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and his followers. The banners of rebels have been defaced, stones hurled at some places and an MLA’s office has been vandalised in Pune. It seems that Chief Minister Thackeray, having overcome the initial shock of such a massive revolt, has decided to dig his heels in. It is not the first time that the party has suffered dissidence to a noticeable extent. In December 1991, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s confidant Chhagan Bhujbal sought to split the party. Bhujbal, who belongs to other backward classes or OBC, might have thought of riding the Mandal wave, but the party remained intact. The revolt by Narayan Rane in 2005 also didn’t break the party; ditto Raj Thackeray’s rebellion a little while later. That was then; Bal Thackeray, who liked to be compared with the tiger, was alive and kicking. But political commentators are watching with great anticipation if his son, Uddhav, would be able to weather the raging storm? He is not believed to be aggressive as his father or even his own cousin Raj. He has often been portrayed as a gentler version of a typical Shiv Sena leader with an interest in wildlife photography. Would he be able to take on street fighters like Eknath Shinde who have risen through the ranks?

Anticipation is accompanied with fear, for Shiv Sena leaders are not known for patience and tolerance of their adversaries’ views. Thankfully, the semblance of normal party functioning is being maintained. So, on Saturday, Uddhav Thackeray chaired a meeting of the party national executive, attended by his partisans. Unsurprisingly, they authorised him to take all party decisions. The meeting also asserted that only the Shiv Sena (that is, the group under Uddhav Thackeray) can use the name of Balasaheb Thackeray. It was also decided to serve disqualification notices to 16 rebel MLAs on the ground that they did not attend a party meeting Uddhav had called earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Shinde’s supporters are crying foul, arguing that Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, an NCP leader, is not qualified to act against the 16 MLAs as there is a petition seeking his removal. The rebels are reportedly seeking legal opinion. Shinde, meanwhile, has presented himself as a Hindutva warrior. In a tweet, he urged the Shiv Sainiks to “understand MVA’s plan”. He claims to be “fighting a battle with a dragon to free the Shiv Sena and Shiv Sainiks from its clutches”. Colourful imagery indeed, but the point is that Uddhav Thackeray is still the Chief Minister and therefore has control over the administration and police. One only hopes that the internecine battle within the Sena doesn’t get nastier.