What Uddhav’s unusual meeting at Matoshree says about his plans for Shiv Sena

MUMBAI: A delegation of the Communist Party of India (CPI) led by senior leader Prakash Reddy called on Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree on Wednesday and extended his party’s support to the Shiv Sena in the crucial Andheri East assembly by-election. The presence of the communist leader at Thackeray’s Matoshree was unusual, as was his party’s announcement of support to Thackeray for the Andheri East by-election

The CPI and the Shiv Sena do have a history, and it had a bloody start.

It was on June 5, 1970, that a group of Shiv Sena workers, then a small party struggling to gain a toehold in the city, killed a prominent communist leader and MLA from central Mumbai’s Parel, Krishna Desai. In the by-election that followed in October 1970, the CPI fielded Desai’s wife, Sarojini Desai but she lost to the Shiv Sena’s Wamanrao Mahadik.

It was a landmark victory; the Sena’s first seat in the Maharashtra assembly. Over the next few years, the Sena rose rapidly in Mumbai’s political and trade union circles, often at the cost of the Left rivals, who accused successive Congress governments of supporting Bal Thackeray to end the Left’s dominance in Mumbai’s trade union sector.

To be sure, 17 Sena workers were convicted for Desai’s murder.

On Wednesday, communist leader Prakash Reddy was not the only unusual visitor at Matoshree on Wednesday. A few hours later, Thackeray also received Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, at his Bandra house. Tushar Gandhi wanted Thackeray’s party participation in “Nafrat Chhodo, Samvidhan Bachao” (Stop hate, save constitution) campaign undertaken by him.

As Uddhav Thackeray’s much-depleted version of the Shiv Sena prepares for its litmus test in Andheri East, he has clearly become a rallying point for parties that have been traditional rivals with the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has partnered with the Eknath Shinde-led Sena faction.

Faced with a tough survival test, Uddhav Thackeray seems keen to widen the support base of the Sena, going beyond its traditional constituency. It is also evident that he is reaching out to sections that have had hostile relations with Shiv Sena. In his Dussehra rally, Thackeray questioned the RSS-BJP over the release of the accused in the Bilkis Bano case in Gujarat. He also spoke about inclusive Hindutva that does not see the Muslim community as enemies. Thackeray has already inducted and promoted Sushma Andhare, a prominent leader from the Ambedkarite movement, as deputy leader. Andhare who appeals to the Dalit population from the Sena platform is one of the leaders of the Mahaprabodhan Yatra launched by the Thackeray faction to reach out to various sections and point out the “failures of the Modi government.”

Political analyst Hemant Desai said in many ways, Uddhav Thackeray was “reinventing” the Sena. “He is actually following the path of his grandfather, Prabodhankar Thackeray who was a progressive thinker and social reformer.”

Desai said there was a possibility that the BJP-Shinde faction will eat into his votes in the November 3 by-election “At the same time, there is sympathy for him in certain sections. Thackeray seems to be reaching out to these sections in a bid to improve his position in the political space,” he said.

A senior Shiv Sena leader loyal to Uddhav said there were “short-term and long-term calculations” behind these moves.

“Our immediate priority is to win the Andheri East by-election. Winning the bypoll against the BJP-Shinde faction will be a major boost for us since it is the first election after the split in the party. It will also set the tone for Mumbai civic polls which are crucial for us to retain our hold on Mumbai,” said a senior Sena leader.

The Andheri seat has a significant proportion of the Marathi-speaking population that favours the Sena but the Thackeray faction is also looking at Muslim, Dalit and Christian votes that could strengthen its position in the bypoll. Support of Congress, NCP and even politically marginal players like CPI could be crucial for the same.

As long as Thackeray’s long-term plans are considered, he would need support from outside the traditional voter base of the party.

“You need to forget yesterday’s rivalry when it is a question of survival. It is clear that there will be a dent in our support base since we have lost 40 of our 55 MLAs and several leaders. Besides, an aggressive BJP in power will damage us further. As such, we need to expand our support base. Directly appealing to the Dalits and softening our stand towards the Muslim community could help…. In the civic polls, this will be important to get votes of supporters of our allies such as the Congress and NCP,” the leader added.