FRINGE TO MAINSTREAM
MNS chief changes tactics in a bid to expand his base, and eat into the Congress and BJP vote banks
Days before Mumbai’s civic polls in February 2012, Raj Thackeray flipped his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s ( MNS) poll symbol on a superstitious whim. The steam engine would now run from left to right instead of the other way. MNS increased its tally in the polls from seven to 28 seats. Since then, Raj has also changed direction. Gone is the foaming- at- the- mouth street leader, urging followers to thrash North Indian migrants. These days, he is a politician who spouts secular rhetoric. There’s anger, but no call to violence.
At the August 21 Azad Maidan rally, he railed against migrants who create law and order problems in the state. “Maharashtra is my only religion,” he said. The rally, in response to the August 11 violence by Muslim protesters, was attended by over 60,000 MNS workers. It was peaceful and belied his party’s reputation for violence. Scholar Gulzar Azmi says he didn’t find any hate in this speech, a big departure from the past. “He mentioned migrants, but that’s his core agenda,” says Azmi.
At a July 24 press meet, Thackeray opened another front by asking motorists to boycott toll booths, calling them “sophisticated extortion rackets”. He called for information on collected toll tax to be made public. “Why should we pay toll when roads are not well maintained?” he asked.
This shift, from fringe to mainstream politics, comes at a time when Thackeray is trying to expand his appeal and eat into Congress and BJP vote bases. “We’ve focused on 77 Assembly seats in 2014,” says a MNS strategist. “If we win even 60, it’ll give us a big share in the next government,” he says. “Raj’s views can no longer be neglected,” says analyst Hemant Desai. “His voice will now be considered to be that of the Opposition,” he says.
Thackeray has triumphed in both his recent agitations. On August 21, Public Works Minister Chhagan Bhujbal promised digital boards at all toll centres, that would display details of the cumulative toll and the time till which it would be collected. Then on August 23, the state government shifted Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik for failing to contain the August 11 violence, another demand he had initiated. Incentives for him to stay the course.