Mumbai: While newly-appointed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 38 rebel legislators have caused a vertical split in the Shiv Sena, the 56-year-old party comprises other components that lend it its strong organisational and grassroots networks. The shakha forms its basic political unit — it is the nerve centre of the Sena’s body politic. It is here that the common Mumbaikar meets the Sainik, seeking help for everything from admission to colleges or hospitals to resolving civic problems. It here that the party mouthpiece Saamna, is read threadbare and discussed. It is also from here that the party’s corporators, mayors, legislators and parliamentarians have emerged. A brainchild of party founder Bal Thackeray, who encouraged the formation of local party offices at the ward level, the shakha remains vital to the party’s organisation even as the city’s socio-economic landscape has changed. There are 236 shakhas in Mumbai Metropolitan Region alone headed by a shakha pramukh.
HT visited three shakhas situated in the heart of where the city’s Marathi-speaking population resides — Dadar, Parel and Lalbaug — which also forms the Sena’s bastion in the city, and two shakhas in Thane, where Shinde and his mentor, the late charismatic Sena leader Anand Dighe were instrumental in creating a strong support base for the party. The primary objective was to understand the pulse of the cadre in these belts. The mood was decidedly upbeat in the Mumbai shakhas, which were bustling with party workers who said that they were behind Uddhav Thackeray, the Sena chief and former chief minister. No outsider could have guessed that an unprecedented crisis was facing the party. Instead, the enthusiasm for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, to be held post-monsoon, was evident. At Thane’s Kashish Park and Hajuri shakhas, the mood was also upbeat, but in support of Shinde. In some parts of the city, hoardings with photos of both Shinde and Thackeray, along with founder Bal Thackeray, came up (the size of Shinde’s face was the largest among the lot) indicating that at least some Sainiks here held out a hope for a reunion.
Parel
This shakha, which started off as a makeshift tent, was formed in 1966 and is one of the first in Mumbai. Sena’s first legislator, Waman Rao Mahadik, was elected from here in 1970. On Saturday, the office was bustling with workers and Sena loyalists who were preparing for a ward meeting later in the day. Some senior party-loyalists were engrossed in the Saamana. A few citizens sought help for admission to the nearby KEM hospital. “No individual is bigger than the ‘Bow and Arrow’ that represents our party. For every defector, we have 10 capable candidates that are ready to take their place. So, these incidents are not going to affect us. Our focus is to work harder for the civic elections so that we can show them that the party can do better without them,” said Nana Phatak (65), a karyakarta for the past 44 years. For many, Thackeray’s resignation as CM last week — delivered over facebook live — was an emotional blow. Several of them went to Matoshree, the Thackeray’s residence in Bandra east, on the rainy evening he resigned to show their support.
Quote: “My wife and daughter wept after seeing his resignation video. All the party workers along with the family members are hurt by the events of the past week. However, these incidents have only made us stronger. We are more motivated to work for the people of Mumbai and Maharashtra.” Sakharam Yeshwant Hariyan (54) a karyakarta for 35 years
Dadar
The Dadar shakha, located 200 metres from the party headquarter Sena Bhavan, was densely crowded with workers across age groups. Many youngsters were seeking help in filling online forms for schools and colleges. This shakha is significant for its leaders Manohar Joshi, who went on to become first chief minister of state from Sena, as well as Visakha Raut, a former mayor of Mumbai. It is also part of the constituency of Sada Sarvankar, one of the rebel MLAs. There were several conversations about Shinde and Sarvankar’s “treachery” and how it would backfire on them in the long run. The Sainiks here said that they would continue to work for Thackeray.
“Those who left the party are just MLAs. They are not Shiv Sainiks anymore. Bal Thackeray brought all the party workers together and taught them what politics is. His principle was to serve the people and never abandon the Sainiks, but leaders like Eknath Shinde have already betrayed us and Bala Saheb’s principles. We will never change sides and each of us will continue to support Uddhav Thackeray, since he is our leader and we are the real Sainiks,” said Devidas Narvekar (73) who has been associated with the party for 55 years.
Quote: “Our main goal is to serve the people and the recent developments have only motivated us. Betrayal and Treachery is not something new to Shiv Sena. Previously, there were incidents when senior party workers like Chhagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Raj Thackeray and Ganesh Naik defected from our party. These incidents only made our party stronger and have brought the people together and the same is going to happen this time as well,” Ajit Kadam, shakha pramukh, who has been associated with the party for 25 years
Lalbaug
The Lalbaug shakha dates back to the 1980s and was founded by Bal Thackeray to address the grievances of the mill workers and the local Koli community of the neighborhood. On Saturday, several senior party loyalists were strategizing on measures to strengthen the party base ahead of the BMC elections. After the mills shut down, the shakha continued to represent the local community’s concerns. “We are not demotivated. Shiv Sena is a people’s party and will always support the concerns of the common Mumbaikar. So, for the people it doesn’t matter who is switching sides or who is joining which party. As long as they see the ‘Bow and Arrow’ they will stand by us,” said Anil Kokil, one of the first members of this shakha and a former corporator.
Quote: “Our party mandate states 80% social work and 20% politics. Throughout the day our party offices are filled with party workers who help whoever comes to our office. People know that unlike most political parties that we have, Sena doesn’t work for strengthening vote banks but to better the livelihood of people.” Pritesh Sakpal (38), karyakarta for 25 years
Hajuri shakha
Hajuri shakha is part of Wagle Estate ward where Shinde first contested elections as a corporator in the late 1990s. Although there were celebrations at the shakha when Shinde took oath as CM, it wore a deserted look on Saturday on account of the rains. Balaji Jambhaldare (55) the shakha pramukh who has worked with Shinde for over 35 years said that they were firmly with Shinde. “He focuses on the problems of the common man and ensures that he meets everyone to resolve their issues. He never judges a person based on his designation or position. These are signs of a true leader.”
Kashish Park
This shakha is situated in Shinde’s stronghold, Kopri Panchpakhadi, the constituency he represents. On Saturday, the shakha wore a busy look and conversations swirled about regarding Shinde’s appointment as CM. There was cheer over Shinde’s coup, as it took forward the party’s ideology, many in this shakha said. “The main ideology of Shiv Sena is Hindutva. In the past 2.5 years we noted that there were hardly any decisions seen in this regard. Shinde will take Hindutva forward and focus on developmental issues,” said shakha pramukh Nilesh Repale (42).