Uddhav Says BJP Can’t Finish Sena (UBT), Calls It An Idea

Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), stated on Friday that the BJP was mistaken if it believed it could destroy his party, which was not only a political organisation but also a concept, just days after losing the Mumbai local council elections.

Speaking to party workers during a celebration of the centennial of the late Bal Thackeray, his father and the founder of the unified Shiv Sena, Uddhav stated that although many individuals are attempting to obliterate the Thackeray name, it will not succeed.

Speaking before Uddhav, Raj Thackeray, the chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and his cousin, compared the state's political climate to a "market of slaves" and brought up the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation elections.

An "auction" is taking place in the state, he said.

"The BJP is wrong if it thinks it can finish Shiv Sena (UBT). The Shiv Sena (UBT) is not a party but an idea," Uddhav Thackeray said.

Had the Shiv Sena not been there, the BJP would have never seen the inside of the BMC or "Mantralaya" (state government's headquarters), said the former chief minister.

His remarks came after the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the January 15 polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), winning 89 seats in the 227-member House. In alliance with the Shiv Sena (29 seats) headed by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the national party ended Thackeray's decades-long control over India's richest civic body.

In the BMC elections, the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) alliance fought better than anticipated, but it was unable to prevent the BJP-led Mahayuti from gaining a majority. Raj Thackeray's MNS won six seats, while the Sena (UBT) got sixty-five.

"They want to swallow Mumbai," Uddhav continued, noting that the Mumbai civic elections was the first instance of money power being employed.

The opposition is a powerful force in the civic body, he noted, even though the BMC results may not have been what the party had hoped for.

According to Uddhav, the outcome would have been even more different if the Sena (UBT) had not detected dual voters. The opposition faced a number of obstacles, including faulty electoral rolls.

"We have to start afresh," he said, adding that the Sena was born not for power but for fighting for the rights of Marathi manoos.

The former Maharashtra CM also said that attempts were afoot to impose non-Marathi culture on Maharashtra, and the decision (later revoked) to make Hindi compulsory from Std 1st was part of this conspiracy.

The slogan "Jai Maharashtra" -- commonly used by Shiv Sena workers -- was in danger, Uddhav said, and urged everyone to use it as a greeting.

Raj Thackeray said it was Bal Thackeray who proved that the Hindus could be a political force, and even the BJP did not think that such a consolidation was possible.