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HT interview: ‘This battle is about the Maharashtra Dharma’, says Uddhav Thackeray
The Shiv Sena (UBT) faces a crucial election battle for Mumbai's BMC on January 15, focusing on Marathi pride and survival amid political challenges.
The election to the 227-seat Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, India’s richest civic body, on January 15 is a do-or-die battle for Shiv Sena (UBT). “It’s a battle for survival…not just for us but for the Marathi people in Mumbai,” says Uddhav Thackeray in an interview to HT.
The Shiv Sena which was in power in the BMC for 26 years, and drew much of its political capital and financial muscle from running the BMC, is a different beast going into this civic election. In mid-2022, it was split into two and Eknath Shinde joined the government and took away a chunk of the party rank and file.
Ahead of the civic polls, Thackeray, 65, joined hands with his estranged cousin Raj who heads the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, and the two are campaigning on the plank of Marathi asmita or pride.
In this interview to HT’s Shailesh Gaikwad, Uddhav Thackeray spoke of the alliance with his cousin, and his disappointment with the Congress for not aligning with him.
Q: You have been campaigning for over a fortnight, what’s the sense you are getting? How confident are you of winning?
A: We are confident. Over the years we have often changed the way we campaign. This time we thought that people (the voters) have heard everything, and there is no point in saying the same thing to them over and over again. Getting busy organising rallies can actually disturb the candidate so we decided to focus on meeting our foot soldiers instead. After all, they are the one who reach our voters which is more important in civic polls. Aaditya and I have planned to reach every single shakha this time. After which Raj and I will have a final rally at Shivaji Park on January 11. Both of us will say what we want to say there.
Q: Your opponents say that both of you are fighting a battle for political survival which has nothing to do with the Marathi manoos.
A: What are they fighting for then? If the BJP fails to win, won’t its existence in Mumbai come under threat? The Esanshi (abbreviation of Eknath Sambhaji Shinde) group or Shah’s Sena, as I call them, too would be wiped out. We saw what happened in Ambernath a couple of days ago (when the local BJP unit tied up with the Congress to defeat Shiv Sena candidates, a move that was eventually scotched). Every election is a battle for survival. This is a battle for survival, not just us but for the Marathi character of Mumbai.
This battle is about the Maharashtra Dharma. In the last 2-3 years, they have been bullying us. We have no issues with those who have been living in Mumbai for years but we do take issue with those who want to take over. There are builders (in Mumbai) who are denying houses to Marathi people on the basis of their food habits. Who supports them? How come they are so emboldened? Show me one Marathi manoos who does this in another state?
Q: Do you perceive a real threat to Marathi speaking people in Mumbai?
A: At the time of the formation of states, Gujarat wanted Mumbai. Marathi people came out on the street through the Samyukta Maharashtra movement and did not let that happen. Those people who were behind the design to take over Mumbai then, are now trying to revive those plans. That’s why they want to finish-off the Shiv Sena. Look, alliances happen all the time, politicians change parties but there are no concerted efforts to finish off parties as we have seen here. Their plan is clear: Finish off the Shiv Sena and you will get Mumbai on a platter.
Q: One of the charges against you is that while you remember the Marathi manoos for your political purposes, you have not really done much for them.
A: Those who are asking this (today) sit in Mantralaya in Mumbai because of the Shiv Sena. Many of them would not even have stepped out of their villages if not for the Sena. Of course, it was our mistake to make some of these people sit in Mantralaya, but my point is that the Sena ensured respect for Marathi manoos in Mumbai. We did not sell Mumbai to contractors and neither did we hand over the city to Adani.
Q: On ground, your workers complain of resource crunch to fight these elections.
A: Resources are an issue. Yesterday (Shiv Sena (UBT) leader) Sushma Andhare spoke about a drugs factory in Satara. This drug trade is spoiling not just our young generation but the money coming out of it is also spoiling state politics. Why has no action been taken? Why did the CM give this a clean chit without a proper inquiry? (Andhare has publicly alleged that an MD-manufacturing unit recently busted in Satara is connected to a resort owned by Eknath Shinde’s brother and that the money from that unit is being routed into these polls. Devendra Fadnavis has dismissed these allegations).
Q: The Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition had worked well for you in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and also, to some extent, in the assembly election. Why was it not continued for the civic polls?
A: It was the Congress which chose not to join hands with us. They said the alliance won’t benefit them, but they should have also considered the fallout of the decision. They did not (even) talk with us before they made the decision. I came to know about it from the newspapers.
Q: It is being said that you can’t win Mumbai merely on the basis of Marathi voters who are barely one-third of the population.
A: When my party ran the BMC or the state government, we worked for everybody and not just for any one section. During the Covid, I worked for everyone in the state, quite unlike UP where bodies were flowing in the Ganges. The Mumbai model of tackling corona virus was appreciated worldwide. People will remember that. At the end of the day, Shiv Sainiks have always run to the aid of Mumbaikars. We have been getting support from a lot of non-Marathi people. Those who love Mumbai and Maharashtra, those who have no issues with the use of Marathi language, have always been with us. The problems that beset Mumbai--pollution, bad roads, corruption—they affect everyone. It is not as if only Marathi-speakers get sore throats, like I have right now, on account of pollution.
Q: The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance is focused only on Mumbai and not on other municipal corporations. Why is that?
A: Mumbai is being eyed by one and all. All the three who lead the Mahayuti (CM Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar) and want to grab power here are not from this city. Though they are Marathi, they are not from Mumbai. Fadnavis will go back to Nagpur, the other one (Shinde) will go to his five-star farmhouse, and Ajit will rush to his uncle in Baramati. Who will stay put in Mumbai for its citizens? The attention they are giving to their campaign should have been lavished on the issues that people face here.
Q: You and Raj Thackeray have come together after two decades. Is the alliance working on the ground?
A: In Ambernath, BJP kicked out the Esanshi (Shinde) group and forged an alliance with Congress. Has their alliance worked out? Ajit Pawar is going all out against BJP in Pune. Has their alliance worked out? There is proper coordination between our workers on ground.
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