Sainiks vie to mark Uddhav’s b’day

Shiv Sena leaders are competing with each other to impress their party executive president Uddhav Thackeray on his 50th birthday.

Shiv Sena leaders are competing with each other to impress their party executive president Uddhav Thackeray on his 50th birthday.

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Most shakha pramukhs (unit in-charge), corporators, MLAs and ground-level party workers in the city as well as the state are brainstorming to find out innovative ways to celebrate Uddhav’s birthday on July 27.

Walking barefoot to Siddhivinayak temple to seek blessings for Uddhav, holding blood donation camp in western suburbs, distributing notebooks at Lalbaug, and computer literacy programmes at Vikhroli.

“It’s a big opportunity for us to be seen. There will be functions at the local shakha and also at Matoshree in Bandra,” a local leader said.

Keeping an eye on the 2012 polls, corporators and union leaders in the municipal corporation are already saying that the recent hike in the salary of more than 1.25 lakh civic employees is a birthday gift from Uddhav to the employee.

“It was he who got it done. Sena has always been with BMC workers,” said Baba Kadam, Shiv Sena union leader in BMC.

Another leader in north-east Mumbai said they have organised walks to Siddhivinayak. “We will walk barefoot to Siddhivinayak temple and pray for saheb,” he said. “The party has strengthened under his leadership and we have captured the entire rural base which was earlier out of Sena’s reach,” he said.

“There will be bouquets from friends and foes and it is seen as an indication of who is sending a bouquet, giving a positive sign,” said another leader who is close to Uddhav.