In a relaxed chat before elections, Uddhav Thackeray speaks to Abhijit Majumder about his estranged cousin, north Indians, Shiv Sena's chances, his father, a college crush on Boney M and more

ONE can expect the unexpected at Matoshree, the Thackeray household. A rose-and-orchid bouquet from a rival NCP leader sits sombrely in the waiting room; a young man brings in plates of the north Indian aloo tikki.

And then there's the expected: shades and shades of saffron on the walls, sofa cushions, paintings, lion heads for chair arm-rests, a copy of The Complete Cartoons Of The New Yorker.

Behind curtains of the expected and unexpected and a maze of metal-detectors, you meet one of the most introverted, media-shy, soft-spoken leaders in Indian politics: Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray. "Shoot," he says, "nothing is off the record." Excerpts:
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What's your gut feel about your chances this election?
People are fed up. They are having to protest on the streets for every small thing: price of food, electricity, water. They want change. They will change the government.

[Notices a fly] Let's get it out. (Then says with familiar Thackeray flourish: "That's off the record, by the way.")

Last elections, Congress promised farmers free electricity. But when they came to power, they charged farmers triple. Then CM Vilasrao Deshmukh even said: "Election promises are not necessarily fulfilled."









Electricity is going to be a major issue...
I went to a village which did not have electricity for 40 hours at a stretch.
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But people voted Congress to the Centre.
Unfortunate. We did well in rural areas like Marathwada, Viderbha, western Maharashtra. But Congress did well in the cities -- both Mumbai and Delhi. However, this election is ghar ka chunav for Maharashtra, it'll be different.
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During Lok Sabha polls, fuel prices were down, inflation was in check... so people might have thought something good was happening. But now prices have not only gone through the roof, but through the sky as well.

What will be the issues this election?
Same as those 60 years ago, the ones Manoj Kumarji's film depicted: roti, kapda aur makaan. Has any industry come to Maharashtra in the last 10 years? Nano went to Bengal and then to Gujarat.

But Tata's never even gave Maharashtra a thought, not did it occur to our state government that we should get Nano here.

We had got Skoda to Aurangabad. We made the flyovers in Mumbai, and my father did the bhoomi puja for the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which they took so long and so many hundred crores more to build.
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Any word of advice for BJP to solve its mess?
It is their internal matter. I don't interfere.
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What will you promise in your manifesto?
We'll waive farmers' loans, get more industries and jobs for the youth. We will connect Nashik, Aurangabad, Pune, Mumbai through better roads.

We have made a small section at Shiv Sena Bhavan. There is a landline and a Gmail account where people send their grouses or suggestions to.

When we come to power, we will have a full-fledged helpline at Mantralaya called Shiv Sampark where people can send their grouses. We will put a minister in charge of it, who will be responsible for follow-ups.
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Two factors could go against you: MNS cutting into your votes, and a weakened ally, BJP.
This time people [saffron supporters] will vote directly for Sena or BJP. They have realised in the Thane elections that voting for a third party helps the Congress. A vote for MNS means vote for Congress. MNS is openly with the Congress in the Mumbai municipality.
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Do you think Congress is behind the creation of MNS?
Possible. Congress can do anything. Till Ramdas Athavale was with them, everything was hunky-dory. The moment he went against them, he was mercilessly thrown out of his house. They'll welcome Bangladeshis into the house, but not Athavale. They should have shown some human consideration to him, given him time to vacate.
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Has MNS hijacked Sena's aggressive, street-smart agenda?
Sena believes where one needs to be aggressive, one must be aggressive. Where we need to request with folded hands, we will. When hands are to be used differently, we will use them differently.
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As the shy leader of one of India's most aggressive parties, do you feel out of your nature?
[Laughs] People have called me shy so many times that I feel like saying: main shy-ar toh nahin. What does one mean by aggressiveness -- smashing glass, beating up innocent people just like that? One should show aggression when nothing else works. But first one should talks.
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MNS may argue it is trying to reflect the anger of Marathi manoos.
You tell what has been the impact of their violence. We agitated against Reliance Energy, there was a result. Balasaheb has always agitated for Marathi manoos, not to promote himself. He has never misused the Marathi people.
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Will you ever be together with Raj again?
I did not leave. He left. His only enemy is Shiv Sena. He has been making personal attacks.
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Does he have no place in your heart?
What heart, Raj is not even on my mind. There are more important issues to think about, a lot of work to be done before and after the elections.
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Is Bal Thackeray going to campaign?
He wants to come, but I've told him please come for the celebration rally when we win the election, when the CM takes charge at Shivaji Park.
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Is he going address the Dusshera rally?
[Pauses] We haven't decided. We are thinking how to make it possible. I don't want to say anything now.
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Do you still take time out for photography?
With elections around, I just don't get the time. I carry a pocket camera even during the campaign -- there are some wonderful sights when you travel Maharashtra, unique expressions of people -- but hardly get to use it. A hobby is like oxygen.
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Do you listen to music?
Yes. My iPod is usually loaded ["He has cooler gadgets than me...a better cell for sure, and he handles technology wonderfully," quips his son Aditya]. I like ghazals. In college, I was a Boney M fan. Really liked their songs. That was a different time.
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Do you listen to songs that your son Aditya listens to?
Yes, mainly because he keeps singing them loudly all the time [laughs]. You can listen without headphone...
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Any memories of Michael Jackson?
Yes, the way he sat on the road to pose with a posse of policemen. When he got on to the stage, he was a very different person from the guy who was speaking to us at Matoshree. It was like the difference between light and lightning.

Any regrets about a mistake made in the past?
None.