Power play within Thackeray’s parivar

Shiv Sena supremo, Bal Thackeray, having once allowed competition between his son and nephew to develop is facing the consequences today

The aging, ailing Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, finds himself in a piquant situation today. The party which he has nurtured into a formidable force in Maharashtra over the past four decades is no more the monolith he used to control with an iron fist. He would raise a finger and the entire rank and file of the party would fall in line to bring the buzzing commercial capital of the country to a halt. But, at 80, he is witnessing an unprecedented crisis in the party and family, following the revolts of his erstwhile trusted lieutenant Narayan Rane and nephew Raj Thackeray. In fact he recently issued a strict warning to Raj Thackeray to desist from criticising Uddhav Thackeray, his son and Sena executive president.

Rane joined the Congress in 2005 and has taken away seven Sena MLAs with him (six of them later re-elected on Congress tickets). His latest blow has been when Lok Sabha MP, Subodh Mohite, quit the Sena to join the Congress last week. Raj Thackeray quit five months after Rane to form his own outfit, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Both Rane and Raj cited a common reason for their revolt: Uddhav’s style of functioning. He has been running the party as its executive president for the past four years. The discontent over Uddhav was simmering ever since he was made the executive president. Thackeray Sr has, however, stood by his son and the decision to make him executive president.

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Uddhav, incidentally, is the only son of Thackeray Sr who lives with him. His eldest son, Bindumadhav (who produced the Hindi film Agnisakshi) died in a road accident in 1996. His estranged son (and ex-husband of Smita) Jaidev lives separately and rarely visits; Uddhav is the youngest and holds a special place in the life of the patriarch, who was devastated by the death of his wife Meenatai in 1995 and of Bindumadhav a year later.

But Thackeray Sr also continues to have a unique bond with his nephew Raj, despite the latter’s revolt. Raj happens to be the son of Srikant Thackeray, who was very close to him. Raj walks and talks like his uncle and behaves like a typical rabble-rousing Shiv Sainik, unlike Uddhav who is soft-spoken and mild-mannered. Raj has been active in politics for decades. He headed the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena until he quit the party. He was considered to be the second most powerful person in the party until Uddhav was made the executive president.

Despite his revolt, Raj has not said anything against his uncle, choosing only to target Uddhav. He has maintained that Thackeray Sr is like a god surrounded by selfish priests. Both Thackeray Sr and Raj share an emotional bond and recently Thackeray Sr said that if Raj were to come back, he would be welcomed as both shared the same blood and that blood relations were important in politics. Interestingly, Uddhav Thackeray, in response to his remarks snapped that nobody had asked Raj to leave so there was no question of inviting him back.

It may be recalled that when Raj floated his party and used his uncle’s portraits on his banners and hoardings, he was prevented from doing so by his uncle — apparently at Uddhav’s behest, who did not want his rival to take advantage of his father’s image. However, allegations made against Uddhav — of having confined his father in the house and isolating him — have been countered by Thackeray Sr himself, who clarified that he was not at all under any kind of house arrest and was free to communicate with whoever he wanted to, including Raj.

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Yet Thackeray Sr faces a piquant situation indeed. Having indirectly allowed a healthy competition between the two men, he has always gravitated towards his son when push came to shove. Yet he has also longed for the return of his nephew to the party and the family.

While Raj’s party, the MNS has made a debut in the February 1 elections to local bodies, Uddhav has managed to ensure that the Sena retained its power in Mumbai’s municipal corporation. Uddhav is also trying to change his image and reach out to the masses by touring the state, delivering fiery speeches.

How the complicated relationship between these three members of a family will pan out is a matter of speculation, all the more because it may have decisive impact on the politics of the Maharashtra.