Forced back into action

It was meant to be a peaceful retirement, spent watching his son take over and nurture the family legacy: The Shiv Sena. Instead, it has turned into an all-out battle to save his 44-year-old saffron party from total oblivion, reports Rajendra Aklekar.

It was meant to be a peaceful retirement, spent watching his son take over and nurture the family legacy: The Shiv Sena.

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Instead, it has turned into an all-out battle to save his 44-year-old saffron party from total oblivion.

Two months after the Sena’s worst electoral defeat in 20 years — the party won just 44 of 288 Assembly seats in the October state election, down from 62 in 2004 — an ageing Bal Thackeray (83) has stepped back onto the battlefield.

On Monday, four years after he handed over the reigns to Uddhav, Thackeray mingled with corporators and party leaders at an event organised to celebrate the Sena’s victory in the Legislative Council polls.

Though he looked drawn and was unsteady on his feet, “everyone in the room was drawn to him and many lined up just to shake his hand,” said a party member present at the event.

As Thackeray reached out, shaking hands and posing for photographs with his partymen, Uddhav watched from the background.

This personal touch is something the young man has not mastered — and it has cost the party dear.

Ahead of the state election, even Uddhav seemed to acknowledge that he needed some assistance from his father.

“A saffron flag on Mantralaya is one thing that I want to gift my ageing father,” Uddhav had said, in an emotional appeal. “It is time to repay Balasaheb.”

The appeal failed. And now the party is hoping a few glimpses of the legendary Tiger of Maharashtra will do the trick.

“Balasaheb will now play an active role in the party’s day-to-day affairs,” Uddhav recently announced at a press conference. “He will visit Sena Bhavan once or twice a month.”

The strategy emerged, sources said, after a stint of serious introspection during a five-day vacation in early November.

The municipal elections are scheduled for February 2012 and, with the civic body being the only remaining stronghold of the party, the Sena is determined to do whatever it takes to win.

The challenges the party faces are numerous, and formidable.

The Congress is on an upsurge and state electoral ally the BJP is raking in the votes from lakhs of north Indians disillusioned by the Sena’s anti-north Indian stance.

But the Sena’s most immediate competition is Uddhav’s cousin Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

The three-year-old MNS has gained ground rapidly in the state, winning 13 seats in its first Assembly election — mainly on the strength of former Sena loyalists who say Raj reminds them of the young Balasaheb.

The municipal election will be crucial for both these parties as it is here that local outfits such as these can build or break their foundations.

The priority for the Sena, therefore, is not just to retain power in the municipal corporations of Greater Mumbai, Thane and Nashik — but to ensure the MNS does not gain a toehold here.

“The return of Balasaheb will be a welcome move for the Shiv Sena,” said political commentator B. Venkatesh. “Thackeray Senior seems to have sensed that the party is in a crisis and, despite ill health, has jumped in to keep the flock together as long as he can.”

A key challenge will be to contain the ambitions of the new BJP leadership, added journalist Aroon Tikekar.

“This party has thrived on the Sena’s support all these years and is now outpacing it,” said Venkatesh. “With [party president] Nitin Gadkari at centrestage, the BJP will now look to strengthen the party in Maharashtra.”

For the Sainiks, Balasaheb’s reemergence is just another reminder of how hard it will be to replace him.

“It is sad that Balasaheb had to make a comeback from his retirement,” said one Sainik, on condition of anonymity. “But no one can match his charisma and oratory. He makes us want to prove ourselves. He makes us feel important.”