Senas attack each other on Bal Thackeray’s birth anniversary

Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde slammed Uddhav Thackeray, saying one cannot win solo elections by “sitting at home”

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said that he was ready to go solo in the coming local polls but would take a decision at the appropriate time. In an indication that he is unlikely to bury the hatchet with the BJP anytime soon, Thackeray came down heavily on union home minister Amit Shah, squarely blaming him for pulling down the MVA government. Thackeray was speaking at a function held in Andheri on Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s birth anniversary.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said that he was ready to go solo in the coming local polls but would take a decision at the appropriate time. (PTI)

In a rival celebration of the same occasion at BKC, deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde slammed Thackeray, saying one could not win solo elections by “sitting at home”. Shinde, who is still unable to hide his disappointment at losing the chief minister’s post, however, insisted that he did not have a hankering for any chair.

After the Sena (UBT)’s defeat in the recent assembly elections and a likely fresh defection of party leaders, Thackeray called upon his partymen to “prepare for revenge by defeating the traitors and their political masters”. “After the Lok Sabha victory, we took things for granted and got careless,” he said. “Let’s come out of that mindset and prepare for local body elections. If you are prepared to fight alone, I will announce the decision to go solo at the right time.” However, amid reports of Sena (UBT) MLAs and MPs being likely to join the Shinde Sena, the absence of MPs Sanjay Dina Patil, Bandu Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wackhaure and MLAs Dilip Sopal and Rahul Patil at the rally raised eyebrows.

There has been talk in political circles that the Thackeray faction is inching towards the BJP again, with both Uddhav and his son Aaditya meeting CM Devendra Fadnavis in the past few weeks. However, in last week’s BJP state conclave, Amit Shah mocked Thackeray and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, declaring that their brand of politics had been buried by the people.

On Thursday, Thackeray spent a significant part of his speech targeting Shah although he was silent on Fadnavis. “In the local body elections, Shah will see what an injured tiger can do,” he said. “Maharashtra defeated Aurangzeb, then who is Amit Shah?”

Thackeray also declared that the BJP’s win was manipulated. “Amit Shah feared that once the BJP lost Maharashtra, the Modi government would collapse, so he used the government machinery and the Election Commission to win the elections,” he charged. “No one believes these results—even BJP leaders are in shock. I challenge Amit Shah to hold the coming local elections by ballot paper and win them.”

Thackeray repeatedly vowed to stand by Hindutva, and insisted that his brand of Hindutva was different from that of the BJP. “For me, Hindutva is nationalism and is progressive,” he said. “Amit Shah should give his definition of Hindutva. These BJP-RSS people only spread hatred. When the time came during the 1992 riots, these cowards ran away and the Shiv Sena stood up for Hindus. Now they are presuming to teach us Hindutva.”

Shinde too expectedly lambasted Thackeray at the BKC rally. “He is now talking about fighting elections solo but that requires a lot of personal strength,” he said. Alleging that Thackeray sat at home during the Covid-19 epidemic and only addressed people via Facebook Live, Shinde said: “You can’t have an attitude of ‘Tum lado, hum kapde sambhalte hain’ (You fight and I will guard your clothes).” Pointing out that his assembly win tally was far higher than that of Thackeray, Shinde expressed confidence that his party would defeat the Sena (UBT) in the local body elections too.

The ex-chief minister, who has been sulking after losing his post, claimed that he was content with his one-time tenure as CM. “I am an ordinary worker, and I was never desperate for the chair and will never be,” he said. “By the grace of God, I have got plenty.”