From The Voice Of The Marathi People To Politicians Hungry For Power: Shiv Sena Then And Now

Dr. Urmila Chakurkar here discusses how things panned out for the common people of Maharashtra amid high profile developments in the politics of one Indian state taking place in another, thousands of miles apart.
Dr. Urmila Chakurkar shares her thoughts on the rise, split and possible downfall of Shiv Sena
Dr. Urmila Chakurkar shares her thoughts on the rise, split and possible downfall of Shiv Sena

Assam is famous as the land of the one-horned rhino, the majestic River Brahmaputra and lush tea gardens, apart from many other scenic spots. But never has it been part of political mayhem that took off from a different Indian state.

That happened on June 22 when an entourage of MLAs accompanied rebel Maharashtra leader Eknath Shinde to Guwahati from Surat in Gujarat. The rebel group arrived in Guwahati amid speculations of overturning the elected government in Maharashtra.

What ensued has been broken down by the media, the politicians at play and the political parties involved in the turmoil, through different prisms of perspective. But the comman man remained confused throughout.

Dr. Urmila Chakurkar here discusses how things panned out for the common people of Maharashtra amid high profile developments in the politics of one Indian state taking place in another, thousands of miles apart. She discusses the beginnings of Shiv Sena from raising a voice for the Marathi people to the commotion it finds itself in today.

It will be very interesting to know what is the situation in Maharashtra. This in reference to the rebels from the Shiv Sena party camping in Guwahati. Few of the ministers and MLAs left for Surat and declared themselves as a different group who wanted to break the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the ruling coalition of Shiv Sena, National Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.

This was a shock to everybody. Not only the leaders and workers of all three parties but the common man was also confused! This state of shock took a day or two for coming out. All TV channel editors, newspaper editors, political analysts were eager to figure out what has happened.

People were grabbing information from all possible sources. Declaration from the rebel group headed by Eknath Shinde started clearing the situation. 'Shiv Sena will be finished' was the first reaction. After wide and wild discussions, media started to pour information to the anxious people of Maharashtra. From Surat the rebellion clan was shifted to Guwahati to prevent any interference from Shiv Sena party leaders, as to change their mind. Gujrat was chosen first and then Assam, as the ruling governments there are of BJP.

When all political party leaders were busy worrying about power, common man was only confused. No matter what party came to power, their problems would not be solved. Farmers' suicides will not be stopped, the water crisis . Whichever party comes to power, it will not look into the problems of masses.

But, India is a country where people vote on emotional grounds rather than on practical ground. That is why they don't want Shivsena to be paralysed. They think that since the formation of Maharashtra state, Gujarat state and the then Prime minister, Mr. Morarjibhai Desai have done injustice to the Marathi people. The tribal area of Dang was attached to Gujrat and so on. There was the dominance of Gujratis in Mumbai.

Also, South Indian people were pouring in Mumbai for government jobs. On this background, Late Shri Balasaheb Thackeray formed the Shiv Sena party in Mumbai on July 19, 1966. Later it spread all over Maharashtra to raise feeble voice of Marathi people. Shiv Sena became pride of Maharashtra in days to come. So even if a person votes or does not vote for Shiv Sena, they have a soft corner for it.

There have been incidents when there were threats for Shivsena.In 1991 when Shri Chhagan Bhujbal left the party, it was the first blow. He could not get people's mandate after that in next elections. Janata was inclined towards Shiv Sena. In 2005, Mr. Narayan Rane said 'Jay Maharashtra' to Shiv Sena. Immediately after that in March 2006, Raj Thackeray also formed a new party_Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. It was a big blow to Shiv Sena. But Balasaheb was alive all those times. Balasaheb had a charisma and Shiv Sena could thrive even after these incidents.

This time not one or two but forty two MLA s are against Uddhav Thackeray's policies.They want to sit as different parties in house. This has shaken Shiv Sena like never before. Party's very trusted leaders have broken the trust. Remaining leaders are now ready to handle the situation after initial shock is over. It is very unfortunate that the rebellion should start on the very day of the formation of Shiv Sena.

For healthy democracy opposition should be strong. The ruling party and opposition party both should be strong.There should always be respect for each other's opinion in a good democracy. Differences of opinion are bound to be there. One should be calm enough to listen to others. But now a days Netas are not ready to listen a word against them.Their language is becoming more and more shameful day by day. Everything is valid in love and politics their behavior is like this.

Common people from Maharashtra are still in a state of confusion. They are watching the TV channels, reading newspapers, and editorials and praying that this should end as early as possible. There were few incidents of violence in Mumbai on June 25. But the next day there were processions against the rebels and in support of the rebels. Both sides have come up for violence.There is nothing in the hands of common man except to watch and wait. Let us hope that political leaders will realise values of human life.

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