Over the past year, Maharashtra has experienced political instability as allies of the Congress party, such as Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), have experienced internal conflicts. Workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in Mumbai have started posting posters encouraging MNS President Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray – two cousins with opposing political ideologies but united under one banner – to come together under one banner.
News agency ANI shared a video showing Laxman Patil from MNS writing, “Politics of Maharashtra has become murky”, alluding to recent defections from Shiv Sena and then from Nationalist Congress Party. The poster calls on Raj and Uddhav to come together now – an earnest request of a Maharashtrian soldier with folded hands – as Maharashtra awaits their meeting.
Their relationship has been fraught since 2005 when Raj, once considered Bal Thackeray’s heir, parted ways from Shiv Sena following an intense disagreement and later established his party, attributing it all to Uddhav and his close circle for his departure; Raj felt marginalized within Shiv Sena and only used for campaign purposes – an impression confirmed by this poster! Uddhav assumed leadership of Shiv Sena upon Bal Thackeray’s death in January 2013.
He led until Eknath Shinde left Shiv Sena and formed an alliance government with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Raj Thackeray expressed his discontent with recent political developments in Maharashtra via Twitter, saying, “What stands in front of our country is the mud of Maharashtra’s politics.” He asked whether politicians would continue with power struggles and personal ambitions or whether its people would end distasteful politics with forthcoming elections.
Conclusion In conclusion, Maharashtra politics have experienced dramatic transformations, particularly after the internal divisions between Shiv Sena and NCP. Concerning Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray’s wish for unity expressed through posters of Maharashtra Nationalist Sena (MNS), their appeals for collaboration suggest the desire for cohesion among individuals within Maharashtra that might shape future dynamics or bring change in power games currently taking place in Maharashtra politics.
