Raj, Uddhav bhai-bhai?

Uddhav's statement on aligning with parties championing marathi manoos cause could turn state politics on its head

It's a statement that may banish post-poll blues for a bruised Shiv Sena.

Surfacing four days after the results, party executive president Uddhav Thackeray in his first press conference yesterday said, "Marathi sathi sagle ekatra aale tar toh suvarna din asel." (It will be a golden day if everybody comes together on the issue of Marathi manoos).

Loosely translated, this could mean a possible Sena-MNS alliance as the only other political party with the Marathi manoos plank, is Raj Thackeray's MNS.

Political observers say that Uddhav's stand, after a humiliating and telling election defeat (four seats) in the city to the MNS' (six seats), can only be a softening towards his bete noire.

With the advantage of hindsight, Uddhav also realises that the Sena-BJP could have won at least 12 more seats in Mumbai, which would have tripled the state figures, taking them past the 145 mark.

In three years, Raj has won six seats. For the Sena, it took 19 years to win its first.

Political workers of both parties however say the Sena-MNS will come together only when they are within striking distance of power.

And up next is the BMC elections crucial for the Sena. The civic body is a cash cow with an approximate Rs 19,000 crore budget.

Insiders say the Sena fears that if the MNS continues its winning streak, they may well lose the BMC to the Cong-NCP. For the MNS, a Sena alliance for the BMC polls, could allow the party its first taste of power.

Admitted an MNS office bearer, "They can still come together during the BMC poll, if they reach an understanding to share power."

The Raj-Sena Saga

Raj Thackeray was initiated into the Shiv Sena in the early 90s, when Uddhav was not politically active.

Raj was Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's blue-eyed boy, who headed the Bharatiya Vidhyarti Sena (BVS), Sena's student wing. He was projected as the inheritor of Bal Thackeray's political legacy.

Things began to go wrong in July 1996, when Raj got involved in the Ramesh Kini murder case and the Shiv Udyog Sena failed.

Meanwhile, Uddhav had entered the political fray after his mother's death in 1995. He was appointed the executive president of the party and Raj felt he was being sidelined.

On November 25, 2005, Raj told Bal Thackeray that the Shiv Sena was suffering under Uddhav's leadership and that he should be held accountable for the party's debacle in the Malvan Assembly poll.

When he got no response from his uncle, Raj resigned from all party posts in December 2005. On March 9, 2006, Raj floated the MNS.

The Marathi Manoos

The Samuykta Maharashtra movement in 1960 brought the concept of the Marathi Manoos into being. "It was more of a class term then and not a cultural one," said Nilu Damle, a political analyst.

But when Bal Thackeray, whose father Prabodhankar was a leader of the movement, founded the Shiv Sena in 1966, "the party used it as a cultural term for Maharashtrians to propagate an ideology - of fighting for the rights of the Marathi citizens", added Damle.

The party spread its base fighting for the rights of the Marathi manoos, who the Sena believed was suffering due to the migrant influx from other states.

Gradually the party moved from solely advocating a pro-Marathi ideology, to one supporting a broader Hindu nationalism.

But Thackeray's nephew Raj, who left the party in 2005, hijacked the ideology and formed the MNS. The MNS now claims they're the only party that cares about the Marathi manoos.

That alienation led Thackeray to say, "The Sena always stood behind the Marathi manoos, but that struggle is dead now. It's not outsiders, but Maharashtrians themselves who stabbed us in the back."

The Other Side

An MNS officebearer said there was absolultely no chance of the parties coming together as the cousins couldn't tolerate each other.

A Shiv Sena Shakhapramukh from the eastern suburbs said, "What is the need for them to come together? Raj Thackeray is acting on the behest of the Congress. So how can they come together? We don't need him."

Uddhav Thackeray's comment on joining hands with any political party that supports the Marathi cause did not hint at the MNS alone, but at any political party espousing the cause of the Marathi manoos. It doesn't matter what their political ideology is or their differences with the Sena are. So if MNS raises an issue for the cause of the Marathi manoos, then Sena will support it.
Neelam Gorhe, spokesperson for Shiv Sena

MNS is the only party that is fighting for the Marathi cause. There is no way we will join hands with the Sena. They run the BMC, but haven't done a thing for the Marathi manoos. Our leader Raj Thackeray has clearly stated that we should be a strong opposition and play our role effectively
Shishir Shinde, newly elected MNS MLA from Bhandup

In the last 10 years, the Shiv Sena has not worked for Marathi manoos, but if there are issues that concern their development, we will rethink our stand towards the Sena
Sirish Parkar, general secretary, MNS

Seats SS+MNS could have won

Worli	47,104 + 32,542	52,398
Total	79,646
Byculla	20,692 + 27	198 36,302
Total	47,890
Dindoshi	40,413 + 39,587	46,278
Total	80,000
Andheri	West 50,837 + 25,052	55,990
Total	75889
Anushakti Nagar	32103 + 16,737	38,928
Total	48,840
Vile Parle	42,634 + 34,156	44,338
Total	76,790
Kurla	34,920 + 33,967	41,891
Total	68,887