Check it out, battle moves to cyberspace

The violence on the roads against north Indians all through this week was real. Equally real is the war Raj Thackeray's supporters in the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are fighting in the virtual world.

Numberless supporters of Thackeray are advocating the anti-north Indian campaign of the party on websites like Orkut, a popular social networking portal. North Indians, and some locals, are opposing Thackeray's men but they are outnumbered even in cyberspace. For instance, in an online poll conducted by Thackeray's supporters that asked who the state belonged to, 96 per cent votes were cast for the original people.

MNS general secretary Nitin Sardesai denied any role of the party in the Internet debate and said it reflected the views of the common man.

"Raj Thackeray has been an icon and is extremely popular among the citizens," said Sardesai. "We are happy with such discussions as these convey the views of the people."

The number of communities on the Net supporting Raj Thackeray is four times those standing behind his cousin and political foe, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray. The happenings of the week have even revived some dormant communities supporting Raj.