Sanjay Raut’s release a boost to dispirited Sena

On Wednesday evening, thousands of party workers gathered outside Arthur Road jail when Raut was released. “We are warriors, we will continue to fight,” the Rajya Sabha MP told reporters after coming out of prison

Mumbai: The release of senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on bail has come as a shot in the arm for the embattled party. Raut, who has the instincts and mannerisms of an archetypal Shiv Sainik, serves as Sena’s interface with the media and sets the narrative for the party through his aggressive sound bytes and comments.

Mumbai, India - November 09, 2022: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and MP Sanjay Raut meets his mother, wife and family members at his house after the Special Court (PMLA) granted him bail in a money laundering case pertaining to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project, at Bhandup, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, November 09, 2022. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo)

On Wednesday evening, thousands of party workers gathered outside Arthur Road jail when Raut was released. “We are warriors, we will continue to fight,” the Rajya Sabha MP told reporters after coming out of prison. “I was in jail for over 100 days and had no means to understand what was happening outside. But I can see that the spine of the Shiv Sena of Balasaheb Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray is intact... only one Shiv Sena is real, which created Balasaheb Thackeray and is working under Uddhav Thackeray; the rest are just pretenders.”

Raut, 61, later visited the Siddhivinayak temple and the memorial to late Sena chief Bal Thackeray at Shivaji Park.

“They will now know that arresting me was a blunder,” Raut said, while speaking to Shiv Sainiks outside his bungalow in Bhandup. He added that “traitors” (Shinde and his men) had no right to take the name of the late Shiv Sena supremo.

“The biggest takeaway from Raut’s release is that the fear in the minds of some Sena leaders that they may face action by central investigation agencies like the ED and face incarceration for long periods if they take on the BJP aggressively may reduce... more of our leaders and functionaries will become vocal against this regime,” a Sena (UBT) leader said.

Sena’ deputy leader and spokesperson Sushma Andhare claimed that Raut was innocent of the crimes he was accused of, yet the system had tried to entangle him in a case. “Raut saheb is Raut saheb. His return will give us the strength of a thousand elephants.”

Raut’s re-entry into active politics will bode well for Sena at a time when the party is working to tap the latent sympathy after the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) following a vertical split in the legislature party.

One of Raut’s long-time associates said after his release, the party mouthpiece Saamana, of which he has been the executive editor since 1992, could adopt a more aggressive stand against the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led government.

“Raut has run Saamana in a manner that has suited the Shiv Sena and its politics. Before it was launched, Balasaheb felt that the newspaper and its writings must be discussed, and under Raut’s helmsmanship, Raut has ensured that this has happened... his internal command over editorial functions is great. He has endeared himself to the common Shiv Sainik through Saamana,” he said.

However, the Sena leader quoted earlier said Raut needed to moderate and control his words and statements. “The intemperate behaviour and statements by leaders from the Shinde camp have generated sympathy for us. After all, the one who gets targeted always gains sympathy. Hence, Raut must watch his words.”

Meanwhile, MVA leaders have welcomed Raut’s release.

NCP MP Supriya Sule said, “Sanjay Raut, Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik are our fighter leaders and they struggle for their rights. Their families have been courageously fighting the cases. I have seen the emotional fight of the families when our leader Chhagan Bhujbalsaheb was in jail. We had full faith in the court and I am thankful to it for the ruling.”

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who had lodged complaints against Raut, however, said, “The investigation is still underway in many other cases and scams. I do not think justice has been done yet.”

Raut, who was arrested by the ED in a money-laundering case, is seen as one of the catalysts and prime movers behind the MVA experiment in Maharashtra, where three ideologically diverse parties joined hands for a common cause - keeping the BJP out of power.