Sena chief, during Dussehra rally, also raises corruption allegation, says his faction will celebrate Bal Thackeray’s birth centenary in a big way
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde addresses his cadres at NESCO Centre in Goregaon East on Thursday. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde launched a scathing attack on Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction, over the “misrule in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)”, stating that the Mahayuti should and would win the upcoming civic poll, or else the city would go from bad to worse.
Addressing the crowd at his party’s Dussehra rally on Thursday, in a veiled attack on Thackeray, Shinde asked rhetorically where the wealth accumulated over the 30-year rule over the BMC had gone. “Has it gone to London?” the deputy chief minister asked. This was Shinde’s fourth rally since he split the party in 2022. The venue was shifted from Azad Maidan to the NESCO Centre in Goregaon due to heavy rainfall.
Shinde, in his 53-minute speech, reiterated that Thackeray and his party leaders were sharing seats with those (read as Congress) who insulted Veer Savarkar. “Is this your Hindutva? Balasaheb’s Hindutva was given up in 2019, when the undivided Sena allied with Congress,” Shinde said, alleging that all this was done merely to occupy the chief minister’s chair.
Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde addresses his cadres at party’s Dussehra rally at NESCO Centre in Goregaon East. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
Shinde further stated that for his party, the late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology and teachings were the real wealth. This year’s rally carried special significance, coming just months before the civic elections. The BMC has long been considered a Shiv Sena bastion. Shinde’s ability to wrest it from Thackeray will be the biggest test for his party since the split.
Shinde claimed that since the BMC elections were around the corner, one would see emotional subjects being raised, such as alleged attempts to take away Mumbai from the Marathi-speaking people. “Mumbai belongs to the Marathi-speaking people and it will continue to remain this way,” Shinde added. The Supreme Court has directed that elections to the BMC and 28 other corporations must be completed by January 31, 2026.
A former chief minister, Shinde further slammed Uddhav Thackeray for the declining Marathi-speaking population. “During whose tenure did the number of Marathi speakers reduce?” he asked, assuring the audience that he would bring back this demographic to Mumbai. As part of achieving the goal, the ruling regime has launched several housing schemes that have been designed accordingly.
The last civic polls were held in 2017, when the undivided Shiv Sena won 84 seats, just two more than the BJP’s tally of 82. But after Shinde’s revolt in 2022, over half of Thackeray’s corporators joined his camp. Meanwhile, Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), once a key player, has steadily lost relevance.
Now, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray are likely to join forces for the upcoming polls, which could dent Shinde’s chances as all three factions share a common Marathi-speaking voter base. That’s why the BMC contest is being seen as a do-or-die battle for the Thackeray cousins and a crucial survival test for Shinde.
No wonder, when concluding his Dussehra rally speech, Shinde asked party workers to set aside their differences and start working towards the goal of winning the BMC and other municipal corporation polls. Shinde made an emotional appeal, stating that next year was Balasaheb Thackeray’s birth centenary. “Our Shiv Sena will celebrate it in a big way,” Shinde added.
Scheme statements
Shinde stated that this year’s Dusshera was different as the festive season took place under the shadow of heavy rain, which affected several thousand families and farmland in several parts of Maharashtra. “It is my promise that relief will reach every affected family and farmers by Diwali,” Shinde said. The deputy chief minister further claimed that the state’s flagship programme, the Ladki Bahin Yojana, would never be called off. “It is my promise that the scheme will never be stopped,” he added. Under the programme, every eligible woman is given Rs 1500 per month by the state government.
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