Emergence of the Thackeray scion

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at his first virtual appearance on January 1, following a spine surgery, said his son Aaditya had taken over almost all of his responsibilities o the BMC

Mumbai Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at his first virtual appearance on January 1, following a spine surgery, said his son Aaditya had taken over almost all of his responsibilities concerning the developments in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). This statement indicated the growing role of Aaditya Thackeray, a Maharashtra cabinet minister, in steering the party.

Aaditya has been in active politics since 2010 when he was launched by his late grandfather and Sena supremo Bal Thackeray (Hindustan Times)

In the last two weeks, Aaditya has been at the centre of key developments: from preparing for the party’s foray into Goa and Uttar Pradesh to planning the campaign to retain control of the BMC. Shiv Sena leaders, however, said it was a matter of time since Thackeray’s attention was divided between running the coalition government and addressing the issues of the state.

Aaditya has been in active politics since 2010 when he was launched by his late grandfather and Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. He started heading Yuva Sena, the party’s youth wing, and was elevated Sena ‘neta’ in 2018. The first Thackeray to ever contest elections became a minister in December 2019. Political analysts said, unlike his father, Aaditya had an interest in politics from an early age and was groomed for it.

On January 10, Aaditya chaired a virtual meeting of leaders, including chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut, Vinayak Raut, Uday Samant, and Anil Desai, to decide on the strategy for the Goa Assembly polls. While Sanjay Raut has been driving the discussions for an alliance, it is Aaditya who is keen on getting a foothold in the bordering coastal state, party insiders said. With the Sena contesting in UP and Goa, Aaditya is expected to campaign in these states while Uddhav will address virtual rallies. Sanjay Raut confirmed that Aaditya will campaign in Goa.

Arvind Sawant, former Union minister and Sena leader, said it is natural that Aaditya is shouldering greater responsibilities. “Uddhav ji is the Sena chief, but being the chief minister, he is occupied with the functioning of the government. So, somebody had to put in extra efforts to run the party and he [Aaditya] did. He conducted a meeting on the Goa elections, and he is working on the BMC [campaign] plan as well.”

‘Natural progression’

Political analyst Surendra Jondhale said running a coalition government would take much of Thackeray’s time. “There is a gap in communication; the connect that party leaders and workers had with the chief has reduced to some extent. Therefore, if Aaditya is taking charge of the party affairs, it is a natural progression.”

A Sena leader said with Uddhav ji recovering after the surgery, Aaditya is expected to do the heavy lifting in the party under his father’s guidance.

Aaditya also met West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Mumbai and held discussions on the possibility of a non-Bharatiya Janata Party front in 2024. Uddhav was hospitalised when his Bengal counterpart was in the city.

Recently, Aaditya was instrumental in a Nationalist Congress Party-Sena alliance to wrest control of the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank from the BJP. This was preceded by a closed-door meeting deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had had with Aaditya where Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide Milind Narvekar was also present. The Sena had three directors on the board while the NCP had eight against the BJP’s nine. Ironically, the Sena’s candidate for the joint chairman post lost the election.

Connecting with Shiv Sainiks will be a major challenge for Aaditya as he has been in his father’s shadow, Jondhale said. “The Sena grew by taking up the local causes and addressing the day-to-day issues of the people. Today the character of the party has changed; the demography has altered. The party is now in governance mode which is conducive for Aaditya. The challenge, however, would be to connect with the common Shiv Sainik.”

Following in father’s footsteps

Uddhav had in 1997 taken the reins of the functioning in the BMC and prepared the strategy for the civic body election. Similarly, Aaditya was involved in the planning for the corporation poll in 2017. This time, the Thackeray scion aims to win 150 of the 227 seats in Asia’s richest civic body with an annual budget of ₹39,000 crore (2021-22).

Since the beginning of this month, the chief minister has virtually launched three projects where Aaditya was present. Thackeray kicked off 2022 by announcing a waiver of the property tax on residential units of up to 500 square feet located within the Mumbai corporation limits. He then participated in the Sena’s pet project, Coastal Road work, and later launched the BMC’s digital chatbot.

While announcing the property tax waiver, Thackeray said, “One cannot forget our roots while handling the responsibility of the chief ministership.” He was referring to the civic body, which gave the Sena political power and played a major role in its growth.

Thackeray added, “I remember the days when Shiv Sena Pramukh [Bal Thackeray] used to inspect road construction, nallah cleaning, and beautification work. I grew seeing him do that and I also went to see road construction which at that time was carried out after midnight... Today, almost all my stress and burden has been taken over by Aaditya.”

With the BJP expected to throw all its might to take control of the civic body, the Sena is planning to reach the halfway mark from its current 97 members. According to Sena insiders, the focus is on the 23 seats which it lost by a margin of around 1,000-1,500 votes in 2017. Of the 23 seats, around 18 seats are in suburbs where Aaditya is the guardian minister.

“The Yuva Sena has been given the responsibility of 40 electoral wards where young population is significant,” a Sena functionary, who did not wish to be named, said.

BMC poll a leadership test

Sawant said Aaditya has become a “seasoned” player now. “He knows the city and its issues very well; he knows the capability of party workers. It is the right time to give the responsibility to someone from the Thackeray clan. Otherwise, nobody will respect him.”

Anil Desai, party secretary and Rajya Sabha MP. said Aaditya has taken a keen interest in the party affairs, and elections. “Uddhav ji took the lead in the 1997 BMC election under Balasaheb’s supervision. Aaditya has been active since 2017; the Mumbai University senate election victory came under his leadership. He is the mainstay of the Sena and the Yuva Sena.”

Political analysts said the BMC election will be the litmus test for Aaditya as the BJP is expected to campaign with the Prime Minister, Union ministers, and even a few chief ministers.

“Aaditya will have to be ready to face the BJP’s might in full force,” Hemant Desai, another political analyst, said.