While the two factions of Shiv Sena put up parallel shows of strength on Wednesday, at Shivaji Park and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) grounds, individual sets of teams had worked hard behind the scenes to ensure the twin shows have a smooth run.
From the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, the two Anils -- Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai and former minister and Matoshree loyalist Anil Parab --, Lok Sabha MPs Vinayak Raut and Arvind Sawant, former minister Subhash Desai, local vibhag pramukh Mahesh Sawant and vibhag and shakha pramukhs from across Mumbai, helped with the prep. Shiv Sena leader and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray and party secretary Milind Narvekar supervised their work and visited the site, said Shiv Sena sources.
Earlier, Mahim MLA Sada Sarvankar, local vibhag pramukh since 2012, was tasked with responsibilities such as securing permissions from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the rally and looking into the logistics. Sarvankar is now with the Shinde camp.
Anil Desai, who is also the party secretary, applied to the BMC for permissions. Desai, Parab and Subhash Desai were among those who plotted the strategies for the legal battle in the Bombay high court (HC) after BMC refused permissions to both factions from holding their rallies at Shivaji Park. The HC finally allocated the ground to Thackeray-led Sena.
Sawant said his team of local sainiks had worked with senior leaders from Dadar and Mahim, like former mayors Vishakha Raut and Milind Vaidya, to prepare Shivaji Park for the rally after the ground was handed over to them on October 2. The décor company run by the family of former mayor Shraddha Jadhav set up the stage.
{{/usCountry}}Sawant said his team of local sainiks had worked with senior leaders from Dadar and Mahim, like former mayors Vishakha Raut and Milind Vaidya, to prepare Shivaji Park for the rally after the ground was handed over to them on October 2. The décor company run by the family of former mayor Shraddha Jadhav set up the stage.
{{/usCountry}}“Our Shiv sainiks put up flags and arranged water and refreshments for people who came from across the state for the rally. There was a team of 300 to take care of them. Seven halls in the vicinity of Shivaji Park were taken where around 1,500 people could sleep, rest and have their meals,” said Sawant.
The Shinde faction’s office bearers from Thane shouldered the lion’s share of responsibility at BKC. The team was led by MP and Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde and comprised former corporator Sanjay More, former Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske and Shinde’s personal assistant Sachin Joshi.
The office bearers looked after the lodging and boarding of more than 1.5 lakh people. Dharamshalas, hotels and community halls were booked to accommodate party workers coming from different parts of the state. A few lakh food packets – containing thepala, samosa and peda -- were bought from Prashant Corner, Thane, and distributed at the rally. Alongside, packets of vada paav with mineral water bottles were also given away.
MLAs and MPs from the Shinde camp were given the target of bringing at least 3000 people from their respective constituencies. The crowd was dominated by the party workers from Aurangabad and other Marathwada districts. Workers from Sillod, the constituency of agriculture minister Abdul Sattar, wore caps with the name of the minister on one side and that of CM on the other.
The highlights of the set-up were the huge dias, where elevators were set up for VVIPs, movable podium and a giant overhead screen where rare images of late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray were displayed. Sandeep Vengurlekar, a contractor from Thane, set up the stage.