Post Sena rebellion, Aaditya Thackeray hits the road to connect with party base

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray has hit the road to connect with the party’s base since the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra.

Aaditya has been touring various parts of the state, especially the constituencies of rebel Sena MLAs, as the party faction led by his father Uddhav faces an existential crisis.

Over the last one-and-half months, the tone and tenor of the usually calm 32-year-old Aaditya, who represents the Worli Assembly constituency in Mumbai, has taken on aggression.

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He has also been reaching out to party workers through ‘Nishtha Yatra’ and ‘Shiv Samvad’ campaigns.

“Today, visited Shiv Sena branches at Byculla, Worli, Prabhadevi-Khedgalli and interacted with the branch chiefs and other office bearers,” Aaditya tweeted in Marathi with pictures on August 4.

आज भायखळा, वरळी, प्रभादेवी-खेडगल्ली येथील शिवसेनेच्या शाखांना भेट देऊन शाखा प्रमुख आणि अन्य पदाधिकाऱ्यांशी संवाद साधला. pic.twitter.com/71Z73xd9qh

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) August 4, 2022

As a minister, he was largely seen in trousers and shirts, sometimes sporting a crisp black jacket with formal shoes of the same colour.

Now a red tilak on the forehead is noticeable as his father faces questions over the party’s commitment to Hindutva due to its alliance with the ‘secular’ Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.

Of the 55 Sena MLAs, 40 revolted against the party leadership in June, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Of the 18 Lok Sabha MPs of the party, 12 have aligned themselves with the faction led by new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

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Scores of former corporators and party functionaries have switched sides, prompting Aaditya to hit the road in an attempt to stem the exodus.

Uddhav, who has been unable to travel much due to health reasons, is also meeting party workers and leaders at the Thackeray residence ‘Matoshree’.

Last year, he underwent a spine surgery while he was chief minister and operated from home for several weeks. Many MLAs who joined Shinde in his rebellion had listed Uddhav’s ‘inaccessibility’ as one of their grievances.

Since the rebellion broke out on June 21, Aaditya has been visiting the Sena “shakhas” or local party offices in and around Mumbai, trying to rally the cadres ahead of crucial municipal elections in Mumbai and other big cities in the region.

Such visits by him to local shakhas were unheard of earlier.

Also read: Rebellion by Shiv Sena legislators betrayal of humanity: Aaditya Thackeray

Beyond Mumbai, he has visited the Sena strongholds in Konkan and Marathwada and also made a trip to western Maharashtra, mostly trying to woo or reassure the demoralised cadres in the constituencies of rebel MLAs.

Aaditya has also been launching vitriolic attacks on the rebels, using a language which he seldom used in the past. He has dubbed the rebels as “gaddar” or traitors, “dirt of the nallah” who “stabbed” his father in the back when he was sick.

He has also dared the rebels to resign from the Assembly and face fresh elections.

(With Agency inputs)