Mumbai: Following its resounding success in the state assembly polls and in preparation for local body elections across Maharashtra, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has embarked on a hiring spree to fill vacancies in its organisational structure.
The party, in stark contrast to how the undivided Shiv Sena functioned until now, placed advertisements across social media and traditional media, inviting applications for various positions in its administrative structure. The process was also clearly defined—a detailed questionnaire, followed by an interview conducted by a panel of senior leaders, and finally, scrutiny by yet another panel of the party’s senior leadership.
Shiv Sena leader Siddhesh Kadam, who is overseeing this hiring process for Mumbai, told ThePrint that according to Election Commission norms, this is a standard process for appointments. However, it is rarely followed in the functioning of political parties.
Even for the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, this is the “first time in two and a half years (since the split in Shiv Sena) that such an exercise is being conducted,” Kadam said.
The Shiv Sena split in 2022 when Shinde walked out of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party with a majority of the MLAs, claiming to be the real Shiv Sena. Over the last two and a half years, Shinde won the battle for the tag of the real Shiv Sena, both in the eyes of the Election Commission and in the people’s court, securing 57 of the Assembly’s 288 seats. In comparison, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) won just 20.
During this period, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena inducted many serving and former public representatives of the undivided Sena. While it has managed to weaken the Sena (UBT)’s electoral base, it has not been able to fully absorb the undivided party’s original administrative network, leaving many gaps to be filled.
These interviews were conducted for key posts, including shakha pramukh, upa shakha pramukh, vidhan sabha sanghtag, vibhag pramukh, department heads, as well as office-bearers for mahila sena and yuva sena. The response was overwhelming.
The party claims that 50 to 100 Shiv Sainiks competed for each post.
“In the last two and a half years, many people from various parties, be it Congress, Sena UBT, MNS, BJP, etc., have joined us. Now, we want to streamline and organise that process—meaning, if someone from MNS or Congress held a particular post, how do we adjust that person within our party? This entire exercise was conducted to organise the party’s structure. This high participation shows that people trust Shinde’s leadership,” said Kadam.
The Mumbai-wide selection process was conducted on a Lok Sabha constituency basis from 28 to 31 January.
“This was in line with expanding our party ahead of the local body elections,” said Kadam.
The massive participation in executive interviews underscored the party’s rising momentum and commitment to grassroots leadership, Kadam said, adding that this exercise will now be replicated across the state and various assembly constituencies.
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Interview process
The selection exercise was conducted for both Shiv Sena and Yuva Sena (youth wing of the party). The party advertised vacancies across social media, traditional media, and even spread information via word of mouth at local shakhas.
Following this, many people applied for the positions—from Shiv Sainiks to individuals with a background of social work, and other professions. Applicants were first required to fill out a questionnaire on their political experience, social activities in their area, public service record, grassroots outreach capabilities, and voter mobilisation efforts.
Following this, in-person interviews were conducted by senior leaders from the respective constituencies based on the application forms. The interview panel comprised two men and two women, all of whom were senior leaders such as MPs and MLAs in the party.
“Now that the forms are filled and interviews completed, they will be scrutinised by an internal committee of senior leaders, including Ramdas Kadam, Gajanan Kirtikar, and Adsul ji, among others. Once they submit their recommendations and remarks, the final decision will rest with Eknath Shinde,” said Kadam.
Strong response in western suburbs
Out of Mumbai’s 36 assembly constituencies, the strongest response was seen in the western suburbs, particularly in the Mumbai North and Mumbai North-West Lok Sabha constituencies, the party claimed.
Among these, the Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency saw the highest turnout, with interviews conducted in Borivali on 28 and 29 January.
Over those two days, more than 750 people participated from Dahisar, Borivali, and Magathane, while over 800 aspirants came from Kandivali East, Charkop, and Malad, according to party spokesperson Kiran Pawaskar, who spoke to the media.
“Yes, it was surprising for us as well, especially in regions where we are not particularly strong due to a significant non-Maharashtrian population. This gives us hope,” said Kadam.
This evaluation process is expected to take a month or longer. Moving forward, the party’s focus will be on increasing its membership drive.
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