Public outreach is the new mantra of two camps to win ‘real’ Sena battle

The two warring factions are trying to drum up support among people in an apparent bid to buttress their claim over the ‘real’ Shiv Sena before the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of India

The two warring factions are trying to drum up support among people in an apparent bid to buttress their claim over the ‘real’ Shiv Sena before the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of India.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde with veteran Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi on Thursday Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo

Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday met veteran Sena leaders Manohar Joshi and Liladhar Dake in the city. The two are among the first generation of leaders who had worked closely with late party supremo Bal Thackeray, but have now taken a back seat due to age. Joshi and Dake could not be reached for comments.

Shinde will kick off his statewide tour with Nashik district on July 30, and then move on to Aurangabad and Pune, covering the constituencies of Sena dissidents who have joined his ranks.

Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray too will visit Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri in early August in the second phase of his Shiv Samvad Yatra.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is also expected to tour Maharashtra from mid-August.

“It will be a statewide tour. Though the dates and venues are yet to be finalised, it will begin in those districts where a large number of MLAs have rebelled,” a Thackeray aide said, adding that this could be done in either Nashik or Aurangabad (Sambhajinagar).

Meanwhile, Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut claimed that legislators in the Shinde faction were uneasy about their future, and could return to the party. “Rebel MLAs are in touch with us. One must not be surprised if there is a change of government in Maharashtra in the coming days,” he said.

However, Shinde dismissed Raut’s claim. “Let him stay in his dreamworld,” the CM said, while speaking to the media after meeting Dake at his residence in Mumbai.

In an attempt to expand the party’s social base, Thackeray on Thursday inducted social activist Sushma Andhare from the Nationalist Congress Party and appointed her as an upaneta (deputy leader). Andhare is a complainant in the violence against Dalits on January 1, 2018 at Bhima Koregaon near Pune. Captain Prashant Surve, the former husband of rebel MP Bhavana Gawali Patil, who is the Shinde group’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, also joined Sena.

“We are rebuilding the real Shiv Sena and I am giving responsibilities to hard-working activists,” Thackeray said, after inducting Andhare.

On July 30, Shinde will visit Malegaon, hold a review meeting with officials from the Nashik revenue division, and address a public meeting in the textile town. The public meeting will be his first since he revolted against Thackeray, toppled his government, and installed himself as the chief minister with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Dadaji Bhuse, the agriculture minister in the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi regime, who joined Shinde, represents the Malegaon Outer constituency.

The chief minister will also speak at a rally in Aurangabad’s Vaijapur that day. Local Sena MLA Ramesh Bornare has thrown in his lot with Shinde.

Pradeep Jaiswal, the rebel Sena MLA from Aurangabad Central, said that on July 31, Shinde would hold a review meeting with officials, address a press conference, and then visit his (Jaiswal’s) constituency. Shinde will also address a public meeting at Sillod, which is represented in the assembly by Sena dissident and former minister Abdul Sattar.

Former minister Vijay Shivtare said Shinde would visit Pune on August 2, where he would chair review meetings, oversee the progress of a drinking water scheme, visit Jejuri and Dagduseth Halwai Ganesh temples, and address a rally at Saswad.

In an attempt to galvanise party cadre, Aaditya is expected to cover Sindhudurg and Kolhapur in the second phase of his yatra on August 1 and 2. He will address a rally at Sawantwadi, the constituency of former minister Deepak Kesarkar, who is the chief spokesperson of the Shinde group. He is also expected to visit Kudal. Aaditya will proceed to Kolhapur the next day for rallies.

Aaditya’s outreach in these two districts is important as Marathi speakers from Konkan and western Maharashtra form the bulk of the Maharashtrians in Mumbai and surrounding areas. They are also the nucleus of Sena’s core support in the city. Hence, any political developments or disruptions in these areas may affect the voting patterns of the larger community in Mumbai and vice versa.