Thackerays are expected to resurrect a subnational politics, a ground ceded to BJP’s nationalist Hindutva
Watching Mumbai politics is like watching a NatGeo wildlife documentary. There’s the tiger’s crouch & pounce, the eagles circling to feed off movement on the ground, the studs warring to mark their territories, and cacophony of birds & bees, macaques & monkeys. The feverish speculation of Thackeray cousins patch-up that could spell an imagined revival of “an undivided Sena” for the “good of Maharashtra” has the political jungle’s creatures all perked up sniffing the air, ears alert, eyes wide open.
The family drama | Uddhav inheriting Shiv Sena led to cousin, anti-migrant hardliner Raj, exiting to form his own party, now electorally wiped out, although MNS cadre has a ‘value’ in creating ruckus. Uddhav lost the “original” party to Eknath Shinde and moved across the political divide to the relatively progressive secular side. But that didn’t pay off electorally. And Uddhav’s attempts at resurrecting his grandfather’s more inclusive politics haven’t seen much traction.
The party drama | Meanwhile, Shinde – who engineered a coup, whisked off partymen and workers, managed to become CM, and held his ground through Lok Sabha 2024 elections – was stunned by BJP’s enormous win in Nov’s assembly elections, killing his dreams of returning as an elected CM, making do with a deputy CMship. Now, the prospect of the Thackerays “coming together” has Shinde worried. The stoic exterior gave way to snapping at a reporter who asked him about the cousins.
BMC polls | The task, and ask, is iffy. BJP, with its nationalist Hindutva, is on terra mega firma. MNS’s extreme position, and Uddhav’s flirting with centrist politics will need a meeting ground that can recapture the Marathi First political sentiment, a regional Hindutva. Brothers not at strife hardly indicate a New Sena politics – also, the party’s with Shinde. Mumbai’s municipal polls will be the test for any attempt at pulling together a new politics. The “emotional talks” don’t qualify even as a trailer. But Maharashtra’s on the watch, hawk-eyed.
This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
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