Uddhav new editor of Sena mouthpiece

Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, who on Sunday declared he was not competent enough to take his father’s place as the Sena Pramukh (Sena chief), has been named as the editor of the party mouthpiece, Saamna, on Tuesday. HT reports.

Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, who on Sunday declared he was not competent enough to take his father’s place as the Sena Pramukh (Sena chief), has been named as the editor of the party mouthpiece, Saamna, on Tuesday.

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Sena chief Bal Thackeray was the editor of Saamna for 24 years from the time he founded it on January 23, 1988, till his death on November 17, 2012. He is being referred to as the ‘founding editor’ on the masthead of the newspaper from Tuesday.

Saamna took off as a mouthpiece to convey the views of the Sena chief to his Sainiks. The editorials were known to be the views of the Sena patriarch, who would not only target politicians and political parties but also lash out at cricketers and artistes.

He would also personally sign messages, give interviews or give orders through articles. The policy of sons of the soil, the anti-North Indian call and Hindutva ruled the columns.

“Uddhavji Thackeray has been named as the editor of all publications including Saamna and Dopahar ka Saamna which are publications of Prabodhan Prakashan,” said senior Sena leader Subhash Desai, head of the publishing house.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut will retain his position as the executive editor of Saamna while Prem Shukla will continue to edit Saamna’s Hindi sibling Dopahar Ka Saamna.