North India Statesman
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News India Live, Digital Desk: Mumbai and ‘Thackeray Family’ These two names have been considered synonymous with each other for decades. There was a time when it was said that no work could be done in Mumbai Municipal Corporation i.e. BMC without the influence of ‘Matoshree’. But look at the wheel of politics, today Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray have to work hard to save the same BMC.
Now the direction of the wind has changed and questions are being raised whether this golden bird of Mumbai will be snatched away from the Thackeray family in the coming elections? Let us understand in simple language where the problem lies.
Shinde-BJP’s solid ‘game plan’
The biggest thing is that in front of Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena is no longer what it used to be. After the separation of Eknath Shinde, the symbol of ‘bow and arrow’ has gone. On the other hand, the strategy made by BJP and Shinde faction (Shiv Sena) to capture Mumbai is quite profound. He is not just giving speeches, but he has directly dented the ‘vote bank’ which Thackeray considered as his fiefdom i.e. Marathi Manus.
Shinde seems to be successful in attracting a major chunk of Marathi votes by calling himself a ‘real Shiv Sainik’, while BJP is strong with its traditional North Indian and Gujarati voters. This equation has become a headache for the Thackeray brothers (both Uddhav and Raj).
Administrator Raj broke his back
Elections have not been held in BMC for a long time and an ‘Administrator’ is sitting there. Uddhav group has suffered the biggest loss due to this. As long as the corporators were in power, they maintained their hold by getting work done among the public. But now the reins are directly in the hands of the state government (Shinde-Fadnavis). Be it allocation of funds or development work, the credit for it is now going directly to the ruling coalition. Due to this, Uddhav Thackeray’s ‘network’ at the grassroots level has weakened.
What will happen to Raj Thackeray?
At the same time, if we talk about Raj Thackeray, it is a ‘do or die’ situation for his party MNS also. Sometimes going closer to BJP and sometimes going alone, this confusion has left even their voters in dilemma. He has a fixed vote share in Mumbai, but it is not enough to win the election. If he does not come with the Mahayuti, he will remain just a vote-getter, the benefit of which will indirectly benefit only Shinde-BJP and not Uddhav.
Narrative of emotion vs development
Uddhav Thackeray is still preparing to contest elections on the issue of ‘treason’ and ‘sympathy’, but the mood of Mumbai is changing. Mumbaikars are now talking about issues like infrastructure, metro and freedom from traffic. By completing these projects rapidly, the Shinde government is trying to show that it is doing the real development.
Overall, the atmosphere is such that the Thackeray family is in ‘defensive’ mode in the Mumbai civic elections after decades. If the opposition’s calculations are correct, the color of BMC’s throne may change this time. This fight has become not just about an election, but for the survival of the ‘Thackeray brand’.
