Mumbai: Following the debacle in the Maharashtra assembly polls last year and amid a slew of defections, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has drawn up an action plan to boost its ground support ahead of civic polls in the state.
At a meeting of senior leaders at the party headquarters, Shiv Sena Bhawan, in Dadar Tuesday, a party strengthening strategy was formulated that would be kicked off in Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s home turf of Thane on 2 March, ThePrint has learnt.
Shinde heads the Shiv Sena faction that split from the Thackerays in 2022.
The much-delayed civic body polls across all major cities in Maharashtra are expected to be held later this year. The polls have been delayed as a petition is pending in the Supreme Court over reservations within local bodies. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for the first week of March.
Mumbai and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (consisting of nine municipal corporations such as Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar) as well as the municipal bodies of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, Nashik and so on will be key for Uddhav Thackeray to spring back after an embarrassing defeat in the state polls.
The party has traditionally drawn much strength and power from ruling some of these local bodies, especially Mumbai and Thane, for decades.
The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s strategy will see leaders taking the Thane momentum forward and going on a statewide tour, speaking to local functionaries across districts. Meanwhile, the party has designated senior leaders Sanjay Raut, Anil Desai, Subhash Desai, Arvind Sawant and Diwakar Raote to meet every Tuesday to take stock of the situation on ground.
“We are starting the exercise from Thane and there is no rally or march that has been planned. Instead, we will be speaking to the common people. And this is how we plan to take it across the state,” a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader told ThePrint.
However, whether Uddhav Thackeray will be present or not at these tours is yet to be decided.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said: “We senior leaders meet every Tuesday to take stock of the situation. On 2 March, Rajan Vichare will hold discussions and dialogues with all party leaders in Thane. Local level functionaries will also be addressed.”
“Next stop will be Palghar, Raigad, Beed, etc. This is being decided. The entire focus will be on building and strengthening the party at the grassroots-level,” he added.
The party will start the exercise in Thane from Tembhi Naka, where late Shiv Sena strongman Anand Dighe used to stay. This is significant because Shinde considers Dighe as his mentor and during assembly elections, Dighe’s nephew Kedar Dighe contested on a Shiv Sena (UBT) ticket against Shinde from Kopri Pachpakhadi, sending a strong signal.
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A line of defections
Since the split in the Shiv Sena in 2022, Shinde has been successfully inducting leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT).
Many former corporators and local level leaders have joined Shinde, with the latest addition being three-time MLA Rajan Salvi who joined his faction earlier this month. It was a jolt to Uddhav Thackeray in the party’s Konkan bastion.
Apart from Salvi, Mumbai’s firebrand woman corporator Rajul Patel also quit the party and joined the Shinde-led Sena earlier this month.
Last month, local leaders from Pune such as Vishal Dhanawade, Sangeeta Thosar and Pallavi Jawale joined the BJP, one of the parties in power in Maharashtra, in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Not only big leaders but also local ones such as shakha pramukhs and deputy shakha pramukhs associated with the Thackerays are also rushing to either Shinde or the BJP.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders ThePrint contacted said that in the coming days, the focus will be on building new faces, while regarding those leaving the party, nothing can be done to stop them.
“We are talking to them, asking them what their issues are, but if people want to go, we can’t stop them,” said Kishori Pednekar, former Mumbai mayor.
Another senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader told ThePrint that the party had given a lot to those who have gone “but still the Shinde-led Sena is wooing them under the pretext of giving them tickets for upcoming civic body polls and even funds for their wards”.
In contrast, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena has embarked on a hiring spree to fill vacancies in its organisational structure.
The party has 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.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: How Shinde-led Sena went headhunting to fill party posts, even recruiting from rival parties
