The great battle between Sena and Sena on the occasion of Dussehra today begins with a stern warning from former Maharashtra Minister Uddhav Thackeray. “Ravan will burn,” Mr Thackeray told the Eknath Shinde camp, gesturing to the huge crowd at Mumbai’s Shivai Park – the traditional venue for the party’s Dussehra celebrations. Mr. Shinde is holding a parallel rally at the MMRDA field, a short distance from Mr. Thackeray’s home, Matoshree.
Sena’s two factions – eye to eye since their vertical split in June – hold what has been touted as a huge show of strength.
For the first time since the birth of Shiv Sena 56 years ago, two Dussehra protests were organized in Mumbai by rival factions.
“What will happen to Shiv Sena? Seeing the crowd here, the question now is – what will happen to the traitors? All gathered together. Like every year, this time Ravana will also burn. But Ravana is different this time,” he told the crowd at Shivaji Park.
The BJP, Mr. Thackeray asserts, betrayed Sena and this is why the alliance broke up. Mr. Thackeray said: “I swear to my parents that there was talk about the half term. After that, Amit Shah said that nothing of this kind was decided.”
The BJP, he added, is now in a situation they are trying to avoid by making Eknath Shinde Minister. “Why didn’t you do it sooner?” he say.
Much of Mr Thackeray’s outrage was directed at Mr Shinde, who, he said, betrayed the party.
“How much greed must a man have? He’s already been promoted to minister. Now he wants the party too,” he said, accusing the new minister of “stealing” his father.
Mr. Shinde, who is fighting to reclaim the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray – the father of Uddhav Thackeray and founder of Shiv Sena – rubbed off when quoting the famous poet Harivanshrai Bachchan.
“My son will not be my heir if he is my son; who will be my heir will be my son – Harivanshrai Bachchan,” Chief Minister Maharashtra tweeted, implying that one’s legacy Men are not necessarily passed on to their sons.
