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.
… unlike Chandrababu Naidu, …
The SS has no option but to ally with the BJP, especially for the assembly elections. Even if they fight jointly, there is no guarantee of a second term; fighting separately would be a journey on the Titanic. The national outlook for 2019 is cloudy. The SS could damage the BJP in a dozen seats, but that will not be decisive to the overall result. Given how few options the SS has, it is unseemly, a violation of coalition dharma, for it to use Saama to attack the governments at the centre and in the state. Its staying on, like Chandrababu Naidu, make the tiger’s roar sound like a pussy’s mew.