The battle for Shiv Sena’s legacy intensified on its foundation day as Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde hosted rival events in different parts of Mumbai. At Sion’s Shanmukhanand Hall, Uddhav Thackeray, buoyed by public support, issued a direct challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Modi-ji, I invite you to start the campaign for the assembly election in Maharashtra… it will be you versus me,” Thackeray declared, referring to the upcoming election scheduled for the end of the year.
He continued, “My message to the BJP — try winning an election without using my original symbol. I am proud that we did not use anyone else’s picture. We will never use either, especially of PM Modi. I challenge PM Modi to start preparations today – keeping this fake Shiv Sena away.”
Thackeray dismissed rumors about a potential reconciliation between the two Sena factions within the NDA. “I would never go with those who tried to ‘finish off’ my party,” he asserted.
Despite the Election Commission awarding the name and election symbol of the unified Shiv Sena to the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde, voters have expressed their preferences clearly. The Uddhav Thackeray faction won nine seats, while Shinde’s group managed only one. The Nationalist Congress Party saw similar results with Sharad Pawar’s faction securing eight seats and Ajit Pawar’s faction, which also received the party name and symbol from the Election Commission, winning just one. The Congress emerged strong with 13 seats.
Public disapproval of the political turmoil extended to the BJP as well. The party’s seat count plummeted to nine, down from 23 in 2019.
At a large rally in Worli’s NSCI dome, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reiterated his claim that Uddhav Thackeray had deviated from the ideals of Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. “Where has your Hindutva gone? You have no right to seek votes in Balasaheb Thackeray’s name,” he challenged. Shinde also claimed, “Even a small kid will tell you that the Shiv Sena UBT won because of the Congress’ vote bank. Those who left Bal Thackeray’s thoughts for position, lost in the election. Bal Thackeray always talked against the Congress.”
Thackeray, however, had already addressed this point. “We got votes of all patriots, people of all religions. They said we left Hindutva because we went with Congress. I did not leave Hindutva. If everyone voted for us to save the country and the constitution, then people are with us. It shows the BJP is the one that left Hindutva,” Thackeray explained.