Mumbai: For the second time in a row since the vertical split in Shiv Sena last year, the Uddhav Thackeray faction has managed to lay claim to the Shivaji Park ground in Mumbai’s Dadar area to hold their Dussehra rally on 24 October.
The Dussehra rally and Shivaji Park hold significance for Shiv Sainiks as the Sena founder, Bal Thackeray, addressed his first ever rally at the ground back in 1966, as well as his last rally in 2012.
Shivaji Park, renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Maidan by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2020, has held immense significance in Maharashtra’s politics.
The ground, which was created during the British era, has been witness to many political rallies, speeches, movements over the years. Political leaders of all hues, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have addressed rallies here. Indeed, Modi — then chief minister of Gujarat — held his first Mumbai rally here in 2003.
“Earlier, Shivaji Park was the biggest open space to hold a rally and being a central location in Dadar, it was used as ground for political messaging. Hence, it held critical value. For political parties, managing to bring in massive crowds to the park meant something. A Shivaji Park rally showed how much public support you had,” political analyst Prakash Bal told ThePrint.
Dadar, in the heart of Mumbai, is well connected to all parts of the city, and beyond politics, the ground is also an important venue for sports, the arts and culture. It’s roughly 28 acres in area and can easily accommodate more than 1 lakh people at a time, experts estimate.
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History of Shivaji Park
In the early 20th century, the British formed the Bombay City Improvement Trust (BCIT), which came up with the concept of garden suburbs, according to city chronicler and historian Bharat Gothoskar. That’s how the park came up, he said.
The ground was originally called Mahim Park. But in 1927, in the 300th year of the iconic Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji’s birth and the celebrations around it, it was renamed Shivaji Park following a demand by Gandhian Avantikabai Gokhale, which was picked up by others, Gothoskar said.
There’s a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at the park that doesn’t hold a sword but is pointing forward instead, with his arm outstretched.
“There was a conscious call to avoid jingoism and hence, Shivaji Maharaj is shown pointing at a new Maharashtra, pointing at a horizon. This is the second Shivaji statue installed in Mumbai after the one at the Gateway of India,” said Gothoskar.
Since at that time, there weren’t many such big ground available (the others being the Jamboree Maidan in Worli and the Parel grounds), Shivaji Park started gaining significance and witnessed many landmark events in the state’s political history, he said.
For instance, the park played a signification role in the ‘Samyukta Maharashtra’ movement, which led to the birth of the state in 1960. The maidan stood as witness to speeches of leaders such as Acharya Atre (educationist, activist and orator Pralhad Keshav Atre) and Prabodhankar Thackeray (Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, Bal Thackeray’s father), who were at the forefront of the movement.
“Shivaji Park has historical importance. It was an epicentre of Samyukta Maharashtra movement. All important rallies used to happen here, even J.P. (Jayaprakash Narayan) held a rally there…It was always a political battleground,” said Bal.
According to Gothoskar, with the communist parties being more focussed on the working class, “their sabhas would happen in the Parel grounds”. For the Shiv Sena, it was the Marathi vote base in and around Shivaji Park that it could mobilise.
Shivaji Park & Shiv Sena
Among all parties, the Sena probably has the strongest relationship with Shivaji Park.
The party was founded by by Bal Thackeray on 19 June, 1966 at his residence in Shivaji Park. Its first public meeting was held at the ground on 30 October the same year.
Reminiscing, Subhash Desai — one of the Sena’s most senir members, who says he hasn’t missed a single rally at the park since the beginning — told ThePrint what happened behind closed doors in those intervening months.
When Thackeray said he wanted to hold the meeting at the Park, people suggested one of the halls in Dadar as the venue. But the party chief decided to do it at the park, Desai said.
One of his advisors was against it, fearing they might not be able to fill the grounds. “But Balasaheb said, ‘Whatever has to happen, let it happen on that ground only, at least because of it, I will get to know if I am right or wrong,” Desai recalled.
For some reason, the meeting could not be held on Dussehra, but the day after, Desai said. But against expectations, the ground was overflowing with people.
“At that rally, Prabodhankar Thackeray said, ‘He was my son until now, but today, I am presenting him to Maharashtra.’ We were very excited to hear this. That’s how the tradition of the Shiv Sena and its Dussehra rally began.”
Thackeray would use the Dussehra rally as a medium to send out his political message. Be it the issue of Marathi manoos, Hindutva, or aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), all these were addressed at Dussehra rallies.
The Shiv Sena Bhavan was also built opposite this park in the 1970s. Historians and experts say that over the years, Thackeray gave the name of ‘Shiv Teerth’ to this ground.
The party later also picked the park over the Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in ceremonies of its chief ministers — both its first chief minister, Manohar Joshi, in 1995 and then Uddhav Thackeray himself nearly 25 years later.
The Sena’s youth wing, the Yuva Sena, was also launched at the venue, and it served as the launchpad for Uddhav’s son, Aaditya Thackeray, when he was presented with a sword by his grandfather at such a rally.
In 2012, just before his death, an ailing Bal Thackeray gave his last speech at the Dussehra rally in a video message where he said he was tired and appealed to the people to love Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray after he was gone.
“It was an emotional appeal that he made and the entire rally was moved…. Emotions ran high. His words were like gospel for us. But we have seen what some people did. They betrayed him and his words and tried to put Uddhav Thackeray down,” said Desai.
Gothoskar said that the Shiv Sena took the initiative to revamp this park around 2011, just before the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. After the death of Meenatai Thackeray (Thackeray’s wife), known as Masaheb by Shiv Sainiks, her bust was installed at the entrance of this park. Behind it, there is a mural of Shivaji’s coronation, a project that was initiated by the Shiv Sena, he said.
And then, Bal Thackeray became the first person to be cremated on the ground in full public view. His symbolic smarak or memorial stands on the ground, next to Shivaji’s statue.
“Even after the split in Sena last year, Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sainiks insisted that their rally be held at Shivaji Park only because of its symbolic and historic attachment. And you saw the crowds that came in. They were jubilant and alive and kicking,” said political analyst Sanjay Patil.
Meanwhile, the Shinde faction cited law-and-order issues when it withdrew claim on Shivaji Park this year. “We, too, could have held a rally at Shivaji Park, but as the head of the government, I did not want to endanger the law-and-order situation,” Shinde said in a post on social media site X.
Insisting on holding rallies at this ground even after the split could be a way for the factions to show who really has grassroots support and who is the ‘real’ Shiv Sena, Bal said.
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Shivaji Park & MNS
After the Shiv Sena, if any other political party has made the most use of this park, it is the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), helmed by Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj Thackeray. Following in Thackeray’s footsteps, Raj held the first MNS rally at Shivaji Park.
Raj Thackeray’s house, a recently built plush bungalow, is also just a stone’s throw away from the ground, overlooking it.
If Dussehra has come to be linked to the Shiv Sena — and now the Sena (UBT) — Raj Thackeray has put his stamp on Gudi Padwa, the Maharashtrian New Year. He addresses his followers at the park every year on Gudi Padwa. The MNS also decorates the park during Diwali.
MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande, while speaking to ThePrint, emphasised the significance of the park. “Being in the heart of the city, it is important. Geographically also, it has connectivity with all parts of Mumbai. Personally, I am a Shivaji Park resident. I debuted as a corporator from that area. Even Raj saheb’s residence is in Shivaji Park, so that adds value for all workers as well. We will not change our venue,” he said.
Other political parties
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also rallies at the ground, although it’s not a regular venue for them.
“Other parties have also held rallies here. But except for the Shiv Sena, and now to an extent the MNS, no other party in my opinion, can fill the ground. And hence, others have not taken that route as often. These two are the only parties that can pull massive crowds, but mainly, it’s the Shiv Sena,” said Patil.
As far as the BJP is concerned, from Atal Bihari Vajyapee to Pramod Mahajan, Gopinath Munde to Modi, tall party leaders has used this ground to address at least one rally in their political careers.
Ahead of the 2004 elections, in what was seen as the BJP’s first major attempt at making a statement about claiming the Hindutva narrative in Maharashtra — which until then was associated with Bal Thackeray — the party organised a massive rally of Modi, at Shivaji Park. It was spectacular, with the late art director Nitin Desai having built a big dais. The event featured fireworks, fountains, and a laser show.
“If this maidan decides to write its autobiography, it will be very exciting and interesting. It is witness to many historic events. It is not like any other park… this maidan has also witnessed how Uddhav Thackeray didn’t show a big heart and fought for this ground (for his Dussehra rally) instead of being accommodative,” said BJP leader Ram Kadam.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, too, addressed party workers at Shivaji Park in 2004. The party was planning to hold a rally by Rahul Gandhi at this ground in 2021, but the leader’s visit did not happen.
Atul Londhe, spokesperson, Maharashtra Congress, said to ThePrint that the park holds importance because of its strategic location. “Earlier, mills were scattered around Dadar. It became the epicentre of the Labour movement and so all meetings and rallies of all parties were held in Dadar,” said Londhe.
He added that now the relevance has not gone down but its use is limited — primarily because of various PILs in the high court and rules around the ground on how many times it can be used for political purposes.
“And so now, other grounds such as the Bandra-Kurla Complex have come up but there is no challenge to it…. Shivaji Park is Shivaji Park,” Londhe said.
Cultural significance
Shivaji Park was the ground for budding artists such as noted vocalist Kesarbai Kerkar, writer Saadat Hasan Manto, cricketers Sandeep Patil and Ajit Wadekar and music director Vasant Desai, who all maid use of it at some point or the other, say historians.
Sachin Tendulkar famously practised on this ground as a young man, before he became a cricketing legend. And after Bal Thackeray, Lata Mangeshkar was also cremated at this maidan.
But above all, it’s still about politics and the Shiv Sena; a memorial to Bal Thackeray is now set to come up opposite the ground.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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