Uddhav Thackeray to take on BJP over Hindutva at Aurangabad rally

Thackeray is holding the rally against the backdrop of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s aggressive pitch aimed at wresting control of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation from the Sena.

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is expected to take on his political opponents and sound the poll bugle for the Aurangabad municipal elections during his rally in Aurangabad on Wednesday evening. This is Thackeray’s second political rally in under and month where he is expected to speak on the party’s Hindutva ideology, issues related to Aurangabad and Marathwada region, and the Rajya Sabha polls in the state, Shiv Sena leaders have said.

The rally also comes at a time when the issue of renaming Aurangabad has become a political talking point (Pratik Chorge/HT PHOTO)

Thackeray is holding the rally against the backdrop of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s aggressive pitch aimed at wresting control of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation from the Sena. The saffron party had earlier targeted Sena over the water crisis in the region.

The rally also comes at a time when the issue of renaming Aurangabad has become a political talking point and amid the row over the visit of All India Majlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi to the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on the outskirts of the city.

“All preparations have been made for a massive public rally of Uddhav ji in Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad). We are expecting an audience of around one lakh people at the ground. To avoid crowding, we have placed giant screens outside the ground for people to see and hear Uddhav ji’s speech,” said Sena’s Chandrakant Khaire, who is in charge of the planning of the rally.

Laying the ground for Thackeray’s public rally, the party has released teasers emphasising Sena’s Hindutva credentials and its association with Aurangabad and Marathwada region. Thackeray is holding the rally on the 37th foundation day of the party’s first shakha in Aurangabad at Gulmandi. The Sena expanded outside the Mumbai-Thane belt from Aurangabad in the aftermath of the social fissures that were created with the renaming of the Marathwada University after Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in 1978.

The teasers feature Shiv Sena supremo late Bal Thackeray demanding that the city be renamed after Chhatrapati Sambhaji, and Uddhav affirming their affiliation to Hindutva. The Sena patriarch had announced the rechristening of the city in a rally at Aurangabad in May 1988.

“Uddhav ji will respond to all issues over Hindutva, which will remain our core agenda. He would also speak on the Rajya Sabha elections which have been thrust by the BJP,” Khaire added.