As Raj Thackeray cleared his stand on NRC and said that, ‘the infiltrators from Pakistan and Bangladesh must be thrown out’, Shiv Sena is scared of losing the ideological base of Hindutva. In an editorial in Saamna, the party wrote that the infiltrators must be thrown out. But, the editorial also took a dig at Raj Thackeray’s decision to change the colour of the flag of the party to all saffron.
Rattled with Hindutva stance of Raj Thackeray, Saamna wrote, “Fourteen years ago, Raj Thackeray formed a party for the Marathi ideology but now it has changed its track to Hindutva. There’s little hope that they will be able to get anything in their hands even now (after inching closer to BJP). When Raj Thackeray during his speech said welcome my Hindu brothers and sisters it was demanded by BJP. MNS could not get anything and now also it cannot get anything.”
Previously, in the 23rd January meet, Raj Thackeray inducted his son Amit Thackeray in the party, on the lines of Aaditya Thackeray’s entry in Shiv Sena. He changed the party flag to full saffron from saffron, blue, white & green and inducted the photo of Hindutva icon- Veer Savarkar- along with Dr Ambedkar, Savitribai Phule, and Prabodhankar Thackeray’s photo on the dais, apart from towering Shivaji’s bust.
When Raj Thackeray formed the party in 2006, his core focus was Marathi Manus (son of the soil) plank, and he raised the issue of Marathi sub-nationalism and anti-immigration in even more chauvinistic way than Shiv Sena. But with the Uddhav Thackeray led the party to compromise on the issues of Marathi Manus (son of the soil plank) and Hindutva, to ally with NCP-Congress, Raj Thackeray is ready to claim the ideological ‘void’ left by Shiv Sena.
Raj Thackeray, who learnt politics from his late uncle and Shiv Sena patriarch, could see that there is a space vacated for Hindutva and son of the soil politics. And Raj Thackeray, given his family legacy, is the best person to fill this space.
Raj Thackeray praised and supported PM Modi in 2014 election; later in 2019 general election, he turned into a critic, but never on the core ideological issues like Hindutva. Through his political career, Raj Thackeray fought elections on Hindutva and son-of-soil issues just like his uncle and never compromised on them.
Raj Thackeray is a legitimate inheritor of Bal Thackeray’s politics in terms of personality, political oratory, and almost every other political trait. He delivers speeches in the same fashion; chants the same slogans; is a great crowd puller.
On the other hand, Uddhav Thackeray has none of the traits of a popular politician, and therefore he is playing second fiddle to Pawar family members, despite contributing the maximum number of seats in the alliance. He has been made the titular head of state, a de jure leader, put on the chair only to sign on the decisions taken by alliance partners. The plight of Shiv Sena could be witnessed in the portfolio distribution of ministries, where all the significant posts went to NCP.
Raj Thackeray would benefit at the cost of Shiv Sena if he deploys his strategy carefully, as the voter base of both parties is the same. BJP, on the other hand, would find another partner in Maharashtra, which it could call a natural ally, given the ideological similarity. If the parties decided to join hands, both of them will benefit at the cost of Shiv Sena.