Older, wiser Sena chief gears up for ’19 polls

MUMBAI : As Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray turns 58 on Friday, the year ahead is crucial for his party. Thackeray will lead the charge against his ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections, as the Sena battles to regain the status of the senior partner in the alliance, which it lost to the ‘Modi wave’ in 2014.

Thackeray has faced several challenges since November 2012, when he took over the reins of the party following the death of his father and Sena founder Bal Thackeray, perhaps the biggest one being doubts over his ability to steer the Sena ahead. Questions were raised whether Thackeray would be able to “shoulder the responsibility” of the party, senior party leaders said. “The Sena has many aggressive leaders at the top, and there were doubts about Thackeray’s ability to handle the party. But he has dealt with the situation in his own style. He is softspoken, but assertive,” a party leader said.

Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said, “Balasaheb’s personality was completely different from Thackeray’s. He has proved everybody wrong with his acumen and administrative skills. Under his leadership, the number of MLAS and corporators, not just in Mumbai, but in other municipal corporations, too, has gone up.”

Political analyst Surendra Jondhale said the Sena fared well in the 2014 Assembly elections, given the strong Modi wave, and that it was a “challenge” for Thackeray to stay a relevant political force in the post-2014 scenario. “Thackeray’s challenge was to remain an independent political force, at the same time balancing the wishes of his party members to be in power. Had he not decided to join the government, it would have been difficult to keep his flock together,” he said. “Since then, Thackeray has become more assertive, even aggressive, in taking on the Bjp-led government on several issues.”

Under him, the Sena has been strongly critical of several decisions and policies made by the Centre and state governments, virtually taking over the Opposition space.

The Sena began its political journey in the 1960s, banking on the sons-of-the-soil agenda that focused on the rights of the Marathi ‘manoos’ or locals in Mumbai. In the 1980s, it adopted a wider plank of Hindutva to reach out to other communities. Under Thackeray, the party continues to fight on the two major agendas.

The Sena chief has often used Hindutva agenda to target the BJP saying the national party has abandoned the agenda. As part of this strategy, the Sena chief now plans to visit Ayodhya and Varanasi towards the end of the year. Thackeray has also attempted to reach out to a younger section of voters in metro cities of the state. In this, his son Aaditya, who was elevated to a Sena leader’s post in the party hierarchy in January 2018, is at the forefront, with campaigns on Mumbai nightlife, move to ban plastic in the state, etc.

Now, Thackeray’s next big challenge is to steer the party successfully in the 2019 elections, and regain lost ground.

UNDER UDDHAV, THE SENA HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF SEVERAL DECISIONS AND POLICIES OF THE CENTRE AND STATE