Earlier this week, the Shinde faction released a teaser video announcing that its Dussehra rally will be held at the MMRDA ground. (File Photo)Ahead of their Dussehra rallies, the two factions of Shiv Sena, led by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, are now engaging in a ‘video war’ with both sides portraying themselves as the true heirs of Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s legacy.
While the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is holding its annual Dussehra rally at the historic Shivaji Park ground, which has been the traditional venue of the Sena rally since 1966, the breakaway Shinde-led faction of Sena is holding a Dussehra rally at the BKC ground of MMRDA.
Earlier this week, the Shinde faction released a teaser video announcing that its Dussehra rally will be held at the MMRDA ground. This was followed by several posters and videos launched by the two factions.
The Shinde faction’s 20-second teaser released on Thursday — showing the Sena’s electoral symbol (bow and arrow) along with the party’s roaring tiger logo — has the voice of the late Sena founder along with his photograph, and also photographs of late Sena lader Anand Dighe.
The video, with a voice-over of Bal Thackeray, states, “The saffron flag of Shivaji Maharaj, the saffron flag of Shiv Sena, and the saffron flag of Hindutva must keep fluttering in the sky, continuously and consistently.” The word ‘Eklavya’ can be seen displayed near Shinde’s photo in the video.
The video was then tweeted by Shinde, who also said in the post that the saffron flag of Shivaji, Shiv Sena, and Hindutva should continue to flutter.
As soon as the Shinde faction released the teaser on Thursday night, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena faction also released a teaser video, featuring the Bal Thackeray picture which is displayed at the Sena Bhavan in Dadar, the bow and arrow poll symbol and the roaring tiger logo of Sena.
The 35-second video has the tag line, ‘Nishthecha Sagar Usalnar, Bhagwa Atakepar Fadaknar, Maharashtra Chi Takad Disnar, Etihasik Dassehra Malava’. (The sea of loyalty will roll, the saffron flag will flutter at the Attock (a Marathi phrase referring to the battle of Attock in 1758), the power of Maharashtra will be displayed, this will be a historical Dussehra Rally.
The video, which opens with the late Sena founder’s photos, features the voice of Uddhav in the background, saying, “My Hindu brothers, sisters and mothers” (the way Bal Thackeray used to start his speeches) and displays visuals of the crowd of Shiv Saniks in earlier Dussehra rallies at Shivaji Park.
Implying that there is only one Shiv Sena, and one Sena Dussehra rally, the Uddhav faction of the Sena tweeted, “One leader, One flag and One ground… Witness the traditional Dussehra rally of Shiv Sena on October 5, 6.30 pm, Shivaji Park.”
Just a few hours after the Uddhav-led Sena teaser, the Shinde faction released another video. This time, it featured Bal Thackeray and his old speeches, and claimed that the Shinde faction was the true heir of Bal Thackeray’s thoughts and ideology. The video begins with the voice of Bal Thackeray, stating, “all my Hindu brothers, sisters and mothers”, and goes on to feature two of Bal Thackeray’s old speeches from the rally.
In one of them, Bal Thackeray says, “If the country is destroyed, Hindutva is destroyed, no one will come to save the country. Only one man among you (Shiv Sainik)will become the saviour and we (Shiv Sena) are doing the work of producing that man in the form of Hindutva.”
Along with these lines, some photos of CM Shinde are shown, implying that Shinde is the “one Shiv Sainik”.
Kiran Pawaskar, a Sena leader from the Shinde faction, said the true legacy of Bal Thackeray’s thoughts was being carried forward by the Chief Minister. He claimed that Uddhav Thackeray failed to take forward the legacy of the Sena founder the moment he joined hands with the Congress, a party Bal Thackeray was against.
Former Mumbai mayor and Sena lader Kishori Pednekar, part of the Uddhav faction, however said, “By claiming something again and again, it doesn’t become rightfully theirs. The real heir of Balasaheb is Uddhav saheb. You cannot taken that away. By lying again and again, the lie does not become the truth. What legacy of thoughts are they talking about? Everything is now coming out. They are just trying to break Marathi votes and are bowing down in front of Delhi.”