In Maharashtra, Uddhav-Shinde Rivalry Sees Street Fights Over Shakhas

On June 21, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided close aides of former chief minister and Shiv Sena faction head Uddhav Thackeray, including those close to his faction MP in the Rajya Sabha Sanjay Raut and the Thackeray scion, Aaditya. They also raided bureaucrat Sanjeev Jaiswal, who is said to be close to Thackeray. The raids, in connection with the alleged Rs 100-crore Covid centre scam, brought to light by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, were conducted a day after Maharashtra chief minister and Thackeray bete noire Eknath Shinde ordered a probe into the alleged scam.

Two days ago, Thackeray and Raut were issued summons by a Mumbai court for defaming Shinde and his aides through the Marathi newspaper, Saamana, the mouthpiece of a unified Shiv Sena, presently, with the Thackeray faction.

These instances, right after both factions of the Shiv Sena headed by Thackeray and Shinde celebrated the foundation day of the party on June 19 and bitterly criticised each other at their separate functions, point to the increasingly bitter rivalry between the two leaders. It was in June last year that Shinde, a minister in the cabinet headed by Thackeray, who was then heading the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, rebelled and walked out of the Shiv Sena with 40 out of the 57 MLAs and a sizeable number of the members of Parliament of the party. Aided by the BJP, Shinde had taken the rebels to Surat, Assam and Goa. Shinde had brought down the Thackeray government and was then sworn in as the chief minister, with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.

Since then, the rivalry has increased and taken on monstrous proportions. The Thackeray faction has been referring to Shinde and his band of followers as “gaddar” (betrayers) and even celebrated a “Gaddar Diwas”. In all his public speeches, Thackeray has been telling the audiences about the alleged “monetary gains” received by Shinde and his brigade to switch sides. Thackeray has also been spewing venom at the BJP for breaking up the Shiv Sena, a party founded by his father late Balasaheb Thackeray.

Shinde and his supporters have appropriated Balasaheb Thackeray’s political legacy, the party symbol and the name – which were given to his faction by the Election Commission of India. The bitterness has now spilt onto the streets with Shiv Sainiks fighting it out over the control of the party shakhas, located in prime real estate, across Maharashtra. In a recent incident, a set of office bearers of the Shivaji Nagar shakha in Thane were locked out of their office as the faction owing its loyalty to Shinde had changed the locks. This led to fighting on the streets, located in a middle-class residential area.

In another incident, two members of the Thackeray faction were arrested on a complaint by the Shinde faction, for allegedly taking cash and vital documents from the Dombivli shakha of the party. They were in police custody for a day and had filed a cross-complaint against the Shinde group.

Both Thackeray and Shinde claim that there are supporters who will cross over to both sides. According to sources, the use of ED against the Thackerays by Shinde is the latest in the feud. Thackeray has been accused of handing over contracts of the jumbo Covid Centre to people who did not have the experience or expertise thereby seeing an increased number of deaths from Covid-19. It may be said that during the years Thackeray headed Maharashtra, he was acknowledged as the best chief minister in numerous opinion polls conducted by TV news channels and other private organisations.

However, Somaiya has been taking on Thackeray, his family members and relatives of his wife, accusing them of corruption and filing complaints against them with various central agencies. Relatives of Rashmi Thackeray – Uddhav’s wife – have been raided by multiple central agencies.

Shinde has also been meeting Thackeray’s estranged cousin and the chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Raj Thackeray in a bid to increase the pressure on Uddhav Thackeray. The Marathi vote bank, which has been traditionally voting for the Shiv Sena, will now be divided amongst both factions. “Getting Raj Thackeray to any side is easy as he is not much of an ideology-holding leader,” says Netra Patel, a chronicler of the Shiv Sena. “The Shiv Sena itself has had its ideological shifts,” said Patel.

Shinde has also been meeting old-timers and senior leaders of the Thackeray faction, in a bid to woo them to his side. Recently, he managed to effect a major defection from the Thackeray faction, when spokesperson and MLC, Manisha Kayande moved on to the Shinde faction. The CM has been holding regular meetings in Worli, the constituency of Aaditya Thackeray. Several close aides of Aaditya have switched over to the Shinde group.

As the fight enters its second year, it is advantage Shinde for the moment as the central agencies have stepped in.