Uddhav falls back on party veterans

So, faces like MP Rajan Vichare and Subhash Bhoir have been entrusted with fresh organisational responsibilities, while newer leaders like Sushma Andhare and Bala Gawade are being inducted from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress to bolster the Shiv Sena’s support base

Mumbai ‘Bhakri firawli naahi tar karapte.’ The bhakri (unleavened jowar or bajra bread) will burn if you do not flip it while cooking, is a popular Marathi saying to indicate that newer faces should get opportunities for political upward mobility to prevent stagnation in the ranks.

While Shinde’s rebellion has seen him walk out with 39 other legislators, the induction of these new faces in addition to the seniors in the party resuming their activities is expected to help the Shiv Sena overcome some of the organizational erosion (Vijay Bate)

Eknath Shinde’s rebellion and the vertical split in the ranks, have led to the Shiv Sena and its president Uddhav Thackeray falling back on its veterans and party seniors who had been sidelined earlier in the larger scheme of things.

So, faces like MP Rajan Vichare and Subhash Bhoir have been entrusted with fresh organisational responsibilities, while newer leaders like Sushma Andhare and Bala Gawade are being inducted from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress to bolster the Shiv Sena’s support base.

While Shinde’s rebellion has seen him walk out with 39 other legislators, the induction of these new faces in addition to the seniors in the party resuming their activities is expected to help the Shiv Sena overcome some of the organizational erosion. This is because these leaders have their pockets of support in their electoral catchments, constituencies and communities, and are looking to step into the void created by these exits from the ranks.

The Shiv Sena is specially focusing on the Thane, Kalyan, Bhiwandi and Palghar Lok Sabha seats, where Shinde’s rebellion has had maximum effect. A section of party leaders, including those from the Agari community, who had taken a backseat when Shinde was dominating the affairs of the Sena in that region, are being tapped into and promoted.

“Party seniors like Jayant Dinde (Nashik) and Udaybandhu Patil (Palghar) who had been sidelined or had to take a back-seat in the scheme of things are being made active. Rajan Vichare and Subhash Bhoir, who had been sidelined have been given new responsibilities,” said a senior Shiv Sena functionary.

Vichare, who was mentored by the Thane strongman, late Anand Dighe, is a second-term MP from Thane, and was nominated as the Thackeray faction’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha. However, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla granted approval to Rahul Shewale and Bhavana Gawali Patil, who belong to the Shinde camp, as the group leader and chief whip respectively.

Bhoir is a former MLA from the Kalyan Rural constituency and was denied a renomination, reportedly after falling out with Shinde and his son Dr Shrikant, a Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan. Former minister Babanrao Gholap, and his son Yogesh, who is a former MLA from Deolali in Nashik, have also resumed their work for the Sena. It is speculated that Yogesh may contest the Shirdi Lok Sabha seat against rebel Shiv Sena MP Sadashiv Lokhande.

“I was sidelined within the party,” said Subhash Bhoir, adding that Shinde’s moves to marginalize him had led to him taking a backseat. “The party had then taken a position against my community (the Agari community),” he charged. In 2019, the nomination of Bhoir, a sitting MLA from Kalyan Rural, was revoked and given to Ramesh Mhatre. The elections saw Raju Patil of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) being elected from the seat, making him the only MLA of the Raj Thackeray-led party.

“The Shiv Sainiks in rural areas, Kalyan and Dombivali are Balasaheb’s (late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray’s) Shiv Sainiks. The Shiv Sena has a strong base here. There is no grassroots impact of this rebellion, the Agari community is firmly with the Sena,” claimed Bhoir.

The Sena functionary quoted earlier said that the party had also inducted fresh faces like Sushma Andhare (NCP), who has a presence in the Dalits and backwards, former Hingoli MP Subhash Wankhede, who had joined the Congress in 2019. Andhare has been promoted as the upaneta (deputy leader) of the Shiv Sena, along with former Congress corporator Manoj Jamsutkar. Jamsutkar’s wife Sonal is an outgoing Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) corporator. Captain Prashant Surve, who is Gavali’s former husband, has also joined the Sena.

“The seniors and old-timers in the party have become active again, while we are also inducting fresh blood,” said Vinayak Raut, Shiv Sena secretary and Lok Sabha MP from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg. He added that in Sindhudurg, Congress district president Bala Gawade had joined the Sena.

Similarly, former MLA Rupesh Mhatre had been given charge of the Bhiwandi Lok Sabha constituency as the samparka pramukh (communications chief). “We have also appointed three district chiefs for Palghar, namely Vaibhav Sankhe, Dheeraj Deshmukh and Vasant Chavan,” said Raut, adding that new organisational appointments had also been made in the Kalyan Lok Sabha segment.

A Shiv Sena worker noted that since the party was born in 1966 as a reflection of the existential anxieties of the Marathi manoos, this section joins forces behind the Sena if there is a perception that it is in trouble. This will work in the interests of the party, he added.