Sena factions gear up for show of strength on Dussehra

Mumbai: Both the Shiv Sena factions are preparing for a show of strength at the party’s annual Dussehra rally on Tuesday. While chief minister Eknath Shinde has termed it the ‘Azad Rally’, Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has named it the ‘Rally of Loyalists’.

After both the parties locked horns over the claim on the venue of Shivaji Park for the annual Dussehra rally, Sena (UBT) got the traditional venue after CM Shinde avoided conflict at an auspicious ceremony and gave up the claim and chose Azad Maidan for the rally.

The second controversy over the Dussehra rally erupted after the reports that the CM Shinde faction had asked ‘Ram Leela’ organisers to carry out ‘Ravan Dahan’ one day before on Navami due to the political rally. However, organisers of Ram Leela clarified that they have shifted the venue of ‘Ravan Dahan’ and it would be done on the day of Dussehra.

This would be the second Dussehra rally after the split in Shiv Sena in June 2022 and both factions are eager to show their strength ahead of the elections. This year, Shiv Sena has set the target to gather around two lakh people for the rally and has given the target to bring around 5,000 party workers-people for the rally to the district chief of the party.

Naresh Mhaske, spokesperson for Shiv Sena has posted on social media that their party has only one philosophy, Hindutva, and CM Shinde is the true follower of the Hindutva ideology of Bal Thackeray.

On the other hand, the Thackeray faction has held meetings of office bearers and leaders for the Dussehra rally. They are expecting a crowd of more than two lakh for the rally this year. With CM Shinde allowing the Sena (UBT) to conduct their rally at Shivaji Park, the confidence of the Thackeray faction is high.

Ahead of the rally, the Thackeray faction on Sunday released a teaser, claiming that ‘the Shivaji Park belongs to the loyalists only.’ In the teaser, Sena (UBT) criticised the CM Shinde-led faction for ‘betraying’ the party and claimed only loyalists can speak at Shivaji Park.