CM installed, Uddhav to address cadre on Sena’s new challenges

In a packed hall at the Nesco exhibition centre in Goregaon on June 19, 2018, the 52nd foundation day event of the Shiv Sena, party chief Uddhav Thackeray had told

In a packed hall at the Nesco exhibition centre in Goregaon on June 19, 2018, the 52nd foundation day event of the Shiv Sena, party chief Uddhav Thackeray had told party workers that the next chief minister would be from the Shiv Sena. In 2019, on the 53rd foundation day, an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana reiterated the statement. A few months later, after a big political shift in Maharashtra, it came true – not just a Sena leader, but Uddhav Thackeray took over the reins of the state government.

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While the party has cancelled its annual celebration in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, Thackeray is expected to address the cadre via video conference on the 54th foundation day of the Sena on Friday.

Even as the Sena has come to power by forming an alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out, political observers feel the real test for the Thackeray-led party would be the Mumbai civic polls, strengthening the party cadre and redefining the political identity.

Political analyst Surendra Jondhale said the Sena cadre, which is known to be on the ground, is not seen much during the Covid-19 situation. “The Sena needs to strengthen the cadre. Usually, a party takes a back seat once it is in power. In the past few months, after it snapped ties and formed the government with the Congress-NCP, the Sena is not visible on the ground. The goodwill that Thackeray earned while handling Covid-19 will not help in future elections,” Jondhale said.

Sena leaders said these are their early days in the government and they have not got a chance to work for people. Besides, the Sena is actively helping families of patients during the pandemic in Mumbai, they said.

Political observers feel the Sena, which has allied with parties with different ideologies, could stand to lose its follower base. “The Sena needs to redefine its politics and programme. By joining hands with the Congress and NCP, the Sena will not be able to go back to its old agendas. It can’t get complacent after coming to power, because the BJP will get more aggressive once Covid-19 situation ends,” said Jondhale.

However, Sena Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant dismissed the notion. “What is wrong with Hindutva ideology? Our Hindutva is far more secular than people who talk about secularism. Besides, we don’t have political programmes; we only have social goals. Power is an instrument to achieve these social goals,” he said.

Sawant, who resigned as the Union minister last year, said the Sena had no “greed for power” and it snapped the alliance with the BJP to teach them a “lesson”. “If you look at it [the MVA government] as a political realignment, it is a lesson for the other states as well. If a party is behaving arrogantly, the Opposition can come together to form the government. Almost in all elections, no party gets 51% votes. The Opposition is always in majority. They are not in power only because they are not united. They [the BJP] use all regional parties, not just us, as a ladder. The moment they climb it, they throw it out. We believe in Hindutva, but we are not slaves. The Sena was more than equal in that partnership. We kept sacrificing for the sake of the country and Hindutva. It didn’t mean they could finish us,” Sawant said.

Jondhale said the next three months would be crucial for the Sena within the government and outside. The government, under Uddhav Thackeray, will have to take key policy decisions for the economy, education and health of the state. According to him, the party will be able to take credit for these decisions. It would otherwise face a tough competition from the NCP, which is skilled at milking situations for political advantage.