War on Sena: Rebels likely to float new party

A close aide of Shinde said that they were likely to form a group in the name of the late Sena chief, who enjoys a talismanic appeal over the masses

Mumbai The political battle that ensued in Maharashtra after rebel leader Eknath Shinde’s rebellion is unlikely to remain limited to the seat of power in the state. As the rebels declare war, the party top brass grasp at straws to retain power and control of Sena- the party and the symbol.

Shiv Sena workers paint black ink on the poster of MLA Sada Sarvankar who joined the rebel camp of Eknath Shinde in Guwahati, at Mahim, on Wednesday. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

If the rebels manage to gain support of two-thirds of the party’s legislative wing, Shinde may stake a claim on the Shiv Sena party name, symbol and above all, the legacy of late Balasaheb Thackeray and start a discussion on who the ‘real’ Sena men are. The rebels are consulting legal experts to file a petition in the Election Commission of India (ECI).

A close aide of Shinde said that they were likely to form a group in the name of the late Sena chief, who enjoys a talismanic appeal over the masses. “We will carry forward the legacy of Hindutva. We are part of the Shiv Sena and continue to be in it,” said the aide, who was speaking to HT from Guwahati and added that the decision to return to Mumbai will likely be taken on Friday morning. However, he stressed, “Now, there is no turning back or retracing our steps.”

If the rebel group approaches the EC, it will be a long battle between the Sena and Shinde faction for the tag of the “real Sena”. This could be the first time in Sena’s history that a rebel stakes claim over the party and tries to edge out the Thackerays.

“We are aware of the extent the Shinde faction can go. The BJP always wanted to finish off the Sena. Remember the shat-pratishat (100 per cent) Bhajap slogan of the party? It would be easier for them to achieve that if the authority of the Thackerays is reduced or done away with. We have begun consultations for the same. The first step would be to take away legal validity of the faction’s leaders,” said a Sena strategist.

The Shiv Sena is already in a huddle to counter the move. Sena leaders are confident in keeping the party name and symbol. “No more splinter groups--even if they have a two-thirds majority--would be allowed to stake a claim for the party name and symbol. It would remain with the original political party. The only option for this group is to merge with the party of their choice, in this case, the BJP,” the above-mentioned strategist added.

Another Sena leader said that they are preparing for a legal battle. “We have checked the provisions of the law and prepared our counterattack accordingly. It does not seem that they would stake a claim on party name and symbol, but if they do, we are prepared to go to court and the EC,” said a party functionary.

Bastions under threat

The rebellion had created a dent in Shiv Sena’s traditional stronghold of Mumbai, Thane, Konkan and Marathwada region.

Sada Sarvankar, a legislator from Mahim, joined the Shinde camp on Thursday. Mahim constituency houses Shiv Sena Bhavan, Sena headquarters and Shivaji Park, where patriarch Bal Thackeray founded the party. Four other Mumbai MLAs--Prakash Surve, Yamini Jadhav, and Mangesh Kudalkar are also with Shinde.

Political observers said that the exit of Mumbai legislators showed a lack of communication and disconnect with MLAs in Mumbai where the Sena was born and where the party chief sits. The Shiv Sena has 13 MLAs in Mumbai and the only minister from the city is Aaditya Thackeray, while two MLCs Anil Parab and Subhash Desai (his term ended, but is still to be replaced) were ministers.

Thane was the first city where Sena tasted electoral success. Shinde, a mass leader from the Thane region, holds sway in the vast area. Shinde has taken legislators Pratap Sarnaik, Geeta Jain (an independent), and MPs Rajan Vichare and Shrikant Shinde from Thane, into his fold.

The rebellion within the Sena is also expected to have a trickle-down effect in the upcoming local body elections. Along with Mumbai, 13 other municipal corporations go to the polls in September-October. Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad were civic bodies where the Sena was either looking to retain power or wrest control in the election, but an organisationally-weakened Sena could find it difficult to keep control of these civic bodies.

“We were besieged by the Congress and NCP in the present regime… This also diluted our commitment to Hindutva and would have affected our ability to seek votes (at a time when majoritarian assertion is on the rise),” said a son of a legislator in the Shinde camp. He added that the arrest of NCP minister Nawab Malik on alleged terror funding charges had also diluted the Sena’s claims to be representatives of aggressive Hindutva.

Some legislators who joined Shinde were upset at being confined to a hotel in central Mumbai and at the behaviour of some newbie Sainiks who were tasked with preventing them from leaving. A Shiv Sena MP claimed that an MLA from the Konkan had assaulted a party functionary before leaving the hotel.