500m from Sena Bhavan, Shinde faction finds his own space

A senior Shinde camp leader who has been in charge of hunting for new office space said they had looked at three different office spaces in the last one month before honing in on the glass façade building, which is architecturally indistinct from the new commercial buildings in Mumbai.

A month after the Shinde faction began hunting for an office that would rival the iconic Shiv Sena Bhavan at Dadar, it has zeroed in on an office space a little over 500 meters away from Uddhav Thackeray’s headquarter.

The key factor in Vastu Central’s favour other than presumably its vastu compliance was its location (HT Photo)

Vastu Central is a spanking new ground plus 5 storey commercial plaza developed by Shri Vithalesh which is only now acquiring tenants that include a doctor’s clinic, the offices of a cooperative bank and a few shops. But the pride of place at Vastu Central which sits between the towering Kohinoor Square and the office of G North ward, will belong Eknath Shinde’s political office. Sources close to the deal pointed out that the Shinde camp has acquired two floors of Vastu Central which admeasures approximately 15,000 sq. feet, though the registration has yet to be done. “That will be done before the start of the pitrupaksh,” said the source. As per the Hindu calendar pitrupaksh starts on September 10th this year. Adherents believe that it’s inauspicious to commence any new endeavour in the pitrupaksh fortnight.

A senior Shinde camp leader who has been in charge of hunting for new office space said they had looked at three different office spaces in the last one month before honing in on this glass façade building which is architecturally indistinct from the new commercial buildings that have sprung up in Mumbai in the last few years. The key factor in Vastu Central’s favour other than presumably its vastu compliance was its location. It’s close enough to Sena Bhavan to flaunt Shinde’s clout as the Shiv Sena’s ‘real’ leader, and it’s also located in the heart of Dadar where the Shiv Sena is rooted.

“It will be a normal party office, with sufficient space for all our leaders and for us to meet common people,” said the same leader. The Shinde faction is likely to occupy the ground and the first floors of the building which are interconnected through an internal stairway. According to a real estate broker from the Shivaji Park area, the ongoing rent in the area is between ₹140-145 sq. ft, whereas fancier buildings like Kohinoor Square and Ruby Mill go at a premium, and command a higher rental value.

When asked whether the upcoming office will also be called Sena Bhavan, Sada Sarvankar, the rebel Sena MLA from Mahim, who has been part of the search committee, said it would be a regular party office used for administrative purposes.