Shiv sena

MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Tuesday placed a full-page advertisement in many newspapers titled “Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra”, quoting a survey where Shinde is shown as more preferred for the top post than BJP's Devendra Fadnavis. The ad prompted Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut to call the party “Modi-Shah's Shiv Sena”, while Shiv Sena leader and school education minister Deepak Kesarkar said the Opposition is "jealous" as Shinde and Fadnavis are working like “brothers”. The advertisement carries Sena's bow-and-arrow symbol and images of Prime Minister “…For the chief minister's position, 26.1 per cent of the people in Maharashtra desire Eknath Shinde and 23.2 per cent of the people wish to see Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister,” reads the advertisement. Senior BJP leader Fadnavis was the CM between 2014 and 2019. Thus, it is undeniable proof that 49.3 per cent of the people in Maharashtra wish to see a strong alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena for their state's leadership, it said. The figures and claims in the advertisement have been attributed to a Zee TV-Matrize survey. “According to the election surveys, 30.2 per cent of citizens of Maharashtra prefer Bharatiya Janata Party, while 16.2 per cent of citizens prefer the Shiv Sena (led by Eknath Shinde). These numbers show that a total of 46.4 per cent people of Maharashtra trust the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance for the development of the state,...

By Months after the Shiv Sena, a regional party in Maharashtra, witnessed the most significant vertical split in its history with its senior leader Eknath Shinde defecting with 39 MLAs and 12 MPs, Maharashtra’s political scene has become murkier. The Election Commission’s interim order to freeze the name and symbol of Shiv Sena—and allot new names and symbols to both camps—has now set a fresh battleground for Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde to claim ownership over the idea of Shiv Sena as envisioned by its founder Bal Thackeray. This column attempts to look at some key factors that led to the unprecedented defection in the Shiv Sena. It also attempts to unpack what lies ahead for both groups as the actual test of their might and political fortunes will lie in the upcoming elections to local bodies across the state. While the magnitude of the rebellion in Shiv Sena sent shockwaves across the state, it was an outcome of a long time of discontent among leaders in the party. The party’s organisational structure is highly centralised and undemocratic and lacks any formal mechanism for conflict resolution. Since the beginning, decision-making rested with the Shiv Sena chief. Still, when Uddhav Thackeray took over the reins, he reportedly corporatised the top structure with several gatekeepers between local leaders and the top leadership, which is a major bone of contention for the Shinde group. Defected Sena leaders allege that when founder Bal Thackeray led the party, anyone...

With the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray from the chief minister’s post on June 29 in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena’s two-and-a-half-year long tryst with power came to an end. While it was being widely expected that the Eknath Shinde faction, which rebelled against Uddhav would support the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister candidate, Fadnavis himself announced on June 30 that Shinde would be the next chief minister of the state. Then, hours later BJP’s national president JP Nadda said Fadnavis would be the deputy CM. PREMIUM Eknath Shinde takes oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra during the swearing-in ceremony, in Mumbai on Thursday. (ANI Photo) (Deepak Salvi) Also Read | Maharashtra crisis: Conceded CM’s chair but key portfolios to remain with BJP What does this mean for the future of the Shiv Sena as one knows it? Is Shinde’s rebellion against Thackeray to be seen as the perfect palace coup which has given the rebel Sena camp the bargaining power to get the BJP to concede the chief minister’s post to the Sena? Or is it just a cosmetic concession where the BJP has allowed the Shinde camp a face saver and it is the latter which will control real power in the state? What is going to be the fate of Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of the Sena? It is useful to look at the history and evolution of the Shiv Sena to answer this question. Here are four charts which explain this in detail. Assembly election results suggest Shiv Sena’s performanc...

By Ritvick Arun Bhalekar: A day after an advertisement in Maharashtra newspapers by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena sparked a row over the comparison between the popularity of the CM over his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, the state government released another advertisement featuring both the leaders as the face of development and growth in Maharashtra. The earlier ad reported "PM Modi for India, Eknath Shinde for Maharashtra", quoting a survey where Shinde is shown as more preferred for the CM post than BJP's Devendra Fadnavis. ALSO READ | The advertisement issued on Wednesday focuses on the BJP-Sena alliance in Maharashtra and attempts to highlight how it has the "support of the majority of the people in Maharashtra". "The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is at the heart of the wishes of the public," the advertisement reads. Likewise, photos of late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and senior leader Anand Dighe were also there in the ad along with PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The previous advertisement missed Thackeray’s photo, which drew ire from Uddhav's camp. The advertisement published on Tuesday had reportedly upset BJP’s leadership and cadre. While the tagline of advertisement put out on Tuesday was "Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra", the chief minister sought to downplay it, saying both he and BJP leader Fadnavis were "in people's minds" and working together. Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai said, "Our party has nothing to do with the adver...

MUMBAI: A front-page advertisement issued by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in newspapers across Maharashtra triggered a political controversy on Tuesday as it featured pictures only of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief minister, leaving out deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, and claimed that a survey had revealed that more people in the state preferred Shinde for the CM's post than Fadnavis. Devendra Fadnavis skips Kolhapur event, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde says 'popularity' ad not given by govt Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday evening downplayed the row over an advertisement claiming a survey had shown him to be the more preferred choice for the CM's post than his deputy, Devendra Fadnavis, who skipped a government function here citing health reasons. The ad said a survey had found 30.2% of the people preferred BJP and 16.2% wanted Shiv Sena, thus 46.4% trusted the Sena-BJP alliance to bring about the state's development. It went on to state that 26.1% preferred Shinde as CM and 23.2% wanted Fadnavis for CM, so 49.3% of people in the state wished to see a strong Sena-BJP alliance. BJP member Praveen Darekar said that the Sena's ad "was not right", and Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Sena alleged Shinde's camp had forgotten Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. The chief minister clarified, saying, " Fadnavis and I are trying to take the state forward with overall development, taking the cabinet along." He said, "People of the state have chosen m...

In what has signalled a rift between the Shiv Sena and BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led party has come out with full-page newspaper advertisements claiming that people wish to see him as the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra over BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis. The ad reads how Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shinde have secured the highest position for Maharashtra through recent welfare projects. The ad is headlined - “Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra” and goes on to add that it is “The Dream Team Loved by All”. The ad has a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shinde smiling at each other while the latter is showing something on his mobile phone. The ad does not have a photo of Fadnavis, who is the BJP’s troubleshooter in Maharashtra and the current Deputy Chief Minister. Read | The advertisement states that according to election surveys, 30.2 per cent of citizens of Maharashtra prefer BJP while 16.2 per cent of people prefer Shiv Sena led by Shinde. “These numbers show that a total of 46.4 per cent people of Maharashtra trust the BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance for development of the state,” it said. However, what stunned Maharashtra’s political circles is the claim - “Moreover, as per the surveys done for the Chief Minister’s position, 26.1 per cent people of Maharashtra desire Eknath Shinde and 23.2 per cent of the people wish to see Devendra Fadnavis as the next Chief Minister.” The survey, according to the ad, is an “undeniable proof” that 49.3 per cent of the...

‘Surveys show Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena poised to get more seats than BJP-Shinde group in BMC poll’: NCP leader Speaking in Nagpur at a two-day NCP conclave, Ajit Pawar said there was “a sympathy” for the Sena (UBT) faction in Mumbai city due to the manner in which former CM Uddhav Thackeray’s tripartite MVA government was toppled last year June 04, 2023 08:45 pm | Updated 08:51 pm IST - PUNE While it was the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) aim to take control of the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday said that surveys showed that his ally, the Speaking in Nagpur during a two-day NCP conclave, Mr. Pawar, the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly said there was “a sympathy” for the Trying too hard “It has been the BJP’s dream for many years to come to power in the BMC. Everyone knows that when the [undivided] Shiv Sena under Bal Thackeray took control of the BMC decades ago, it was only then that the party began to expand in the Konkan region and other parts of Maharashtra. Moreover, the BMC has a budget greater than that of many states in the country. But, there is sympathy for the [Thackeray-led] Shiv Sena in Mumbai city because of the manner in which Uddhav Thackeray was deposed as CM last year. Even the surveys show more seats for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT),” said Mr. Pawar. The NCP leader claimed that as the surveys pointed to more seats for...

As SC Decides Who Is 'Real Shiv Sena', A Look At The Political Crisis In Maharashtra Amid the ongoing political tussle in Maharashtra, the Supreme Court is hearing pleas by Shiv Sena and its rebel MLAs regarding the constitutional validity of issues related to splits, mergers of political parties, defections, and disqualifications. • • • • • Representational Image PTI On August 8, the Supreme Court wasset to decide if a plea filed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shide's faction staking claim to the "real" Shiv Sena will be heard by a Constitution bench. The court had earlier asked the Election Commission to hold off on taking any immediate decision with regard to the plea and had said it will announce its decision on Monday. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana had said last week on Thursday that it would take a call by Monday on referring the matters related to the recent Maharashtra political crisis to a constitution bench. "We will decide whether to refer the matter to the 5-judges constitution bench," the bench, also comprising justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, said. The apex court was hearing the petitions filed by the Shiv Sena and its rebel MLAs during the recent Maharashtra political crisis which raised constitutional issues including those related to splits, mergers of political parties, defections, and disqualifications. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena had in July moved the Supreme Court against the proceedings of the Election Commi...