Uddhav Thackeray vs Eknath Shinde: Will Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park turn into battleground?

The two factions of Shiv Sena are set for another clash. This time over the annual Dussehra rally which is held by the party every year at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mumbai.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has declared that he will hold the 5 October Dussehra rally at  Shivaji Park “come what may”. The rival camp led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde is likely to hold a rally of its own.

After the split in Shiv Sena prompted Shinde’s rebellion, the claim over the party has intensified. Both factions say they are the real Sena. A fight is on for the symbol. Now the latest flashpoint is Shivaji Park.

But why is Dadar ground significant for Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally? Why is Uddhav Thackeray determined not to forsake it?

Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena again

On Monday, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray announced that the party will organise the Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park even if his camp does not get permission for the event.

“Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally will be held at Shivaji Park in Mumbai. Shiv Sainiks from all over the state will reach for this rally. We do not know these technical things whether the government will give permission or not. We will rally,” ANI quoted the former Maharashtra chief minister as saying.

Taking a veiled dig at Eknath Shinde, he added, “The one who has loyalty in his blood is Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena has grown not by traitors but by the blood of Shiv Sainiks.”

Thackeray said whatever he wants to say, will be said in the Dussehra rally.

His remarks come in the wake of the pending approval from the Mumbai civic body for the annual assembly.

Uddhav Sena had submitted a formal application to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on 22 August seeking its nod for the 5 October rally, reported Indian Express. Senior BMC official Prashant Sapkale confirmed receiving the application from a political party to use Shivaji Park on Dusshera, saying the matter will be decided once Ganesh festivities end smoothly, the report added.

Talking to reporters, Uddhav Thackeray said Shiv Sainiks have started preparations to come to Shivaji Park from different parts of the state.

“The Shiv Sena’s annual congregation will take place at ‘Shivtirth’ (the term Sena uses for Shivaji Park),” he said, as per PTI.

The Shinde camp’s stand

Meanwhile, the Eknath Shinde-led Sena faction is also preparing to hold a grand assembly at Shivaji Park on Dussehra, as per a Deccan Herald report.

Deepak Kesarkar, the spokesperson of the Shinde-led rebel Sena MLAs, said that the Maharashtra chief minister will comment on holding the Dussehra rally or not at an “appropriate time”, PTI reported.

Earlier, former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray had said on Saturday that authorities were not accepting Shiv Sena’s application to hold its Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park.

The Uddhav camp views BMC’s delay or even possible rejection of their request as part of the Shinde faction’s “larger plan to capture the Sena”, reported Indian Express.

Legacy of Shivaji Park for Shiv Sena

Uddhav Thackeray’s announcement to hold Shiv Sena’s traditional Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park sends a message to the party’s grassroots about establishing who is the “original” Sena.

The Dussehra rally has been a Sena tradition ever since Bal Thackeray founded the party in 1966.

On 30 October 1966, the firebrand patriarch of Shiv Sena used the Dussehra rally to lay out the agenda for the party’s leaders. After that, Shivaji Park became synonymous with Bal Thackeray’s famous speeches.

Speaking about the late Sena founder’s Dussehra rallies in earlier years, senior journalist Prakash Akolkar told Indian Express that Bal Thackeray used the dais to “present general idea about party’s ideology, political and social intentions. Hence it started becoming the most important event for the party.”

“Workers devised their own methods to execute the idea that Thackeray used to lay out for them in general terms,” Akolkar added.

Even the Thackeray scion Aaditya’s political innings began with the 2010 rally at Shivaji Park. In November 2019, Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the Maharashtra chief minister at the packed park, where his father was cremated in 2012.

Following Bal Thackeray’s demise, Uddhav took over Sena and has been organising the Dussehra rally since 2013.

When Shiv Sena could not hold the Dusshera rally at Shivaji Park

There have been some years when Shiv Sena was unable to hold its annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park.

In 2006, Shiv Sena could not hold its rally on Dusshera because of an incessant downpour and in 2009 due to the state Assembly elections.

The COVID-19 pandemic also affected Shiv Sena’s Dusshera rally over the past two years. It was held virtually in 2020, while the next year Shiv Sainiks assembled in Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai’s Kings Circle to adhere to coronavirus protocols.

This year, all pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted. But it remains to be seen if the Dusshera rally will be held. And most importantly, which faction of the Sena will hold it.

With inputs from agencies

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