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Maharashtra: Shakhas divided over rebellion, voice support for both camps
It is at these shakhas that the common Mumbaikar meets the Sainik, seeking help for everything from admission to colleges or hospitals to resolving civic problems. It is here that the party mouthpiece Saamana is read threadbare and discussed.
Newly appointed chief minister Eknath Shinde and 38 rebel legislators have caused a vertical split in the Shiv Sena, but the 56-year-old party comprises other components that lend it its strong organisational and grassroots networks. The most prominent among them are the shakhas that form the party’s basic political unit.
It is at these shakhas that the common Mumbaikar meets the Sainik, seeking help for everything from admission to colleges or hospitals to resolving civic problems. It is here that the party mouthpiece Saamana is read threadbare and discussed.
A brainchild of party founder Bal Thackeray, the shakha remains vital to the party’s organisation even as the city’s socio-economic landscape has changed. There are 236 shakhas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region alone with each headed by a shakha pramukh.
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HT visited some of the shakhas to understand the pulse of the cadre.
‘Focus is to work harder for upcoming civic polls’
Parel shakha, which started off as a makeshift tent in 1966, is one of the oldest shakhas in Mumbai. Sena’s first legislator, Waman Rao Mahadik, was elected from here in 1970. On Saturday, the office was bustling with workers and Sena loyalists. “No individual is bigger than the ‘bow and arrow’ that represents our party. For every defector, we have 10 capable candidates... Our focus is to work harder for the civic elections so that we can show them that the party can do better without them,” said Nana Phatak (65), a karyakarta for the past 44 years.
‘Those who left are not Shiv Sainiks anymore’
Located 200m from the Sena Bhavan, the party headquarters, the Dadar shakha was crowded with workers across age groups. Many youngsters were seeking help in filling online forms for schools and colleges. This shakha is significant for its leaders Manohar Joshi, who went on to become first CM of state from Sena, as well as Visakha Raut, a former mayor of Mumbai.
“Those who left the party are just MLAs. They are not Shiv Sainiks anymore. Bal Thackeray brought all the party workers together and taught them what politics is. His principle was to serve the people and never abandon the Sainiks, but leaders like Eknath Shinde have already betrayed us and Bala Saheb’s principles. We will never change sides and each of us will continue to support Uddhav Thackeray,” said Devidas Narvekar (73) who has been associated with the party for 55 years.
‘No talks on Hindutva in the past 2.5 years’
Situated in Eknath Shinde’s constituency, Kopri Panchpakhadi, the Kashish Park shakha wore a busy look on Saturday. Conversations swirled about Shinde’s appointment as the CM. There was cheer over Shinde’s coup, as it took forward the party’s ideology, many in this shakha said. “The main ideology of Shiv Sena is Hindutva. In the past 2.5 years, we noted that there were hardly any decisions in this regard. Shinde will take Hindutva forward and focus on developmental issues,” said shakha pramukh Nilesh Repale (42).
