Uddhav appoints Anand Dighe’s nephew as Thane district chief

This move Uddhav Thackeray is aimed at countering Shinde’s claim on the legacy of Dighe who was popular in Thane

Mumbai A day after chief minister Eknath Shinde issued a veiled threat to party chief Uddhav Thackeray that he would publicly disclose facts related to Anand Dighe, Thane Shiv Sena chief who died in 2001, the latter on Sunday appointed Kedar Dighe, nephew of the late leader as Thane district chief of the party.

Kedar Dighe(left) with former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at a recent event (Kedar Dighe/Twitter)

This move Uddhav Thackeray is aimed at countering Shinde’s claim on the legacy of Dighe who was popular in Thane.

On Sunday, Sena announced that Kedar Dighe has been appointed as Thane district chief, while Pradip Shinde is city unit chief. Anita Birje, a local leader, was also appointed as upneta or deputy leader in the party hierarchy. The announcement made by Shiv Sena indicates that Thackeray has decided to take on Shinde in the latter’s stronghold.

Kedar, 42, is the nephew of Anand Dighe, the son of Anand Dighe’s younger brother. Born and brought up in Thane, Kedar runs a hospitality startup called BGourmet. He also runs a non-government organisation, Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Yuva Pratishthan since 2006 which works for people in rural areas of the district.

“Kedar wanted to join politics after his uncle’s death but local Sena leaders were hostile to him. Besides his business, he was looking after schools started by his uncle for tribal children in the Thane district,” said his close aide.

Kedar Dighe said, “Anand Dighe Saheb lived his life with values and a motive to serve the people. He has been always there in the hearts of every citizen of Thane.”

Regarding his appointment, he said, “Whatever happening right now is just for power and not for the people. Our leader Uddhav Thakarey is not alone now.”

Anand Dighe was a charismatic leader of the party in Thane and was immensely popular among the party workers. Shinde often invokes Dighe’s legacy to justify his revolt against Thackeray. By fielding Dighe’s nephew opposite Shinde on the latter’s home turf, Thackeray has tried to counter the narrative of the chief minister. Though Kedar Dighe is a political novice and has never played any significant role in Shiv Sena so far, the Sena leadership wants to use him in the battle of perception with Shinde who is posing himself as a common Sena worker fighting against Uddhav Thackeray who is at the helm of the party because of his relation to the Sena founder.

A skilled organiser, Dighe built the Shiv Sena organisation in Thane in 1980s and 90s and dominated the politics of the district till he died. He encouraged a number of party workers from working-class or middle-class backgrounds, groomed them and built a strong second-rung leadership. Shinde was one of them. Dighe died in an accident as his vehicle crashed with a truck coming from another direction in 2001. His following among the Sena workers was such that they could not believe when he passed away while being treated at Singhania Hospital in Thane that they ransacked the hospital. Several top Sena leaders including Uddhav Thackeray had to be then moved out of Thane immediately to prevent any untoward incident as the irate Sena workers went berserk. Since then, there have been conspiracy theories about ‘’Dighe’s suspicious death” among Sena’s supporters.

Shinde who began as a shakha-pramukh or head of Sena’s local neighbourhood office and owes his rise in local politics to Dighe often invokes the late leader’s legacy to justify his rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray. When he was alive, Dighe’s growing popularity was always a bit of an uneasy issue for Shiv Sena top brass. Though he was not removed from his position, the cold war between Dighe and Sena leadership was always a talking point in political circles.

On Saturday, Shinde threatened that he would spill the beans if Sena leadership continued to target him.

“If there is continuous effort to target me, I will disclose the things that I have not said so far. There will be a political earthquake then,” Shinde said in Malegaon as he began his state tour.

There was no reaction from the Sena leadership but on Sunday, a large group of Sena workers from Thane led by local MP Rajan Vichare called on Thackeray at his Bandra residence.

“Kedar gave a good reply yesterday asking why he (Shinde) didn’t speak for 25 years. If he had any secret, did he keep it under wraps because he was getting perks of power? Dighe was a loyal Sainik. Traitors have no business taking his name,” Thackeray said while addressing workers from Thane outside his residence.