Shiv Sena is a Hindu right-wing party founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, then a political cartoonist, in Maharashtra. The party fought for the rights of the Marathis in the face of a wave of immigration from Kerala and other southern states in the 1960s. But from pro-Maratha, it soon took on the image of being a pro-Hindu party, and has faced charges of inciting hate and participating in the violence, leading up to the Bombay riots of 1992-1993.
In alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena came to power in Maharashtra in 1995. The alliance remained till 2019, except for a brief breakup in 2014. It was in 2019, that the Shiv Sena, now under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, decided to break with the BJP, and joined hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — parties ideologically opposed to it. This led to a split in 2022, when another Shiv Sena emerged under Eknath Shinde.
Rebellion, though, is not new to the party. The Sena split in 1991 when senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal quit along with many MLAs and workers. Then, in 2005, Narayan Rane quit and took several lawmakers along with him. Uddhav Thackeray’s cousin, Raj, left the party along with several lawmakers and workers in 2006.
Shiv Sena is trying to ride on two boats, that of Modi-Shah version of Hindutva, and Secularism. It will invite ridicule this way as an ideologically confused and weak party. If at this juncture the congress and NCP withdraw support, SS will be finished as a credible political party. So SS should quickly take a major decision, and should just as quickly announce it, that it believes in SOFT HINDUTVA.
The stakes are too high for the three coalition partners to allow it to founder on something as remote from the day to day concerns of ordinary Maharashtrians as the CAB. So long as the shared promises contained in the CMP are respected, there are bound to be issues associated with ideology where the three parties may retain their different points of view. A formal coordination mechanism would help.
No. The number of illegal Bangladeshis in Mumbai and other cities and towns of Maharashtra make it very relevant.