20 October,2026 07:47 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will hold its rally at NESCO in Goregaon, while the faction led by Uddhav Thackeray hold the rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar
The Shiv Sena will mark its 60th Dussehra rally today, with two separate gatherings organised at different venues. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena will hold its rally at NESCO in Goregaon East, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray will address party workers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park in Dadar West. mid-day spoke with veteran Shiv Sainiks and party leaders to understand the significance of the milestone and what the annual rally means to them.
[popcorn number="1966" desc="Year Shiv Sena held its first rally" class="Default"]
Speaking to mid-day, Gajanan Rajaram Chavan, 65, Sewri Vidhansabha Pramukh of Shiv Sena (UBT), said, "I still remember being in Std IX when my father took me and my four brothers to Shivaji Park to listen to Balasaheb Thackeray in 1977. It was an experience I can never forget. Listening to Balasaheb had a deep influence on me and inspired me to work for the upliftment of Marathi people. I continue to be with the Shiv Sena."
Shiv Sena leader and Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat. FILE PIC/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Shakhapramukh Sudhakar Ahire, Shiv Sena (UBT), said, "I still remember living in the Govandi-Deonar area, where we would listen to Balasaheb's audio cassettes in our Ganpati pandal. That is where I first felt inspired by him. In 1989, when I was around 18, I travelled in a tempo to Shivaji Park to listen to the man who had inspired me over the years. It was an experience beyond words. No one can match Balasaheb's aura."
Shiv Sena leader and Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat said, "I was a Shiv Sainik when I first started coming to Shivaji Park from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to listen to Balasaheb Thackeray. Being there for the Dussehra rally was never something we would miss. It has been decades since I celebrated Dussehra at home because, for us, the festival meant being at Shivaji Park with Balasaheb. We would eat whatever we could find around the ground and then sit among thousands of people, listening to him."
Shiv Sena (undivided) held its first Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar on October 30, 1966. The Shiv Sena's annual Dussehra rally has long been a significant event for Shiv Sainiks across Maharashtra and continues to hold an important place in the state's political landscape. The Eknath Shinde faction began holding a separate Dussehra rally in 2022, following the split in Shiv Sena in June that year.
