In the Shiv Sena's traditional stronghold, many are excited about the breakaway formation headed by Bal Thackeray's nephew Raj – even if they don't know exactly what the new party stands for. There is something about conflict among kin that keeps history engaged, and often bitter. The Mahabharata, for example, is nothing if not a story of epic battle between cousins. Egos may drive such conflicts, but their spoils have always been political. In Bombay today, two cousins, Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, have their horns locked in combat. At stake is the militant legacy of Bal Thackeray – Raj's uncle, Uddhav's father, and the founder of the Hindu-nationalist Shiv Sena. Inevitably, the politics will be titillating; but what about the battlefield, the heart of Bombay? Is the Shiv Sena losing its grip over Dadar, the area of the city that has been its stronghold for years? And is the Marathi urban middle class finally shifting loyalties? The answers to these questions may well define the trajectory of Maharashtra's politics, and Bombay's future.
But first, a brief foray into the past. In the late 1960s, Bal Thackeray built his political party, the Shiv Sena, out of a rabble-rousing lot of disgruntled Maharastrian youth. As the appeal of Maratha parochialism weakened, the party moved towards militant Hindu nationalism. After a lacklustre performance in electoral politics and a base confined to Bombay during the 1970s and early 1980s, in the following decade Thackeray's leadership saw some gains in civic elections. The Sena expanded its political base to the Konkan, Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra. In 1995, it formed the state government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Audacious Raj
With Thackeray at the helm, his son Uddhav and nephew Raj emerged as the younger voices of the party, as well as possible heirs to the patriarch's legacy. While a reclusive Uddhav kept away from the public eye, the fiery, elegant and popular Raj fast came to be seen as his uncle's fitting successor. But Bal Thackeray silenced popular speculation by anointing his son Uddhav the party's working president in 2004, decidedly settling the issue of succession. This ended Raj's chances of heading the Shiv Sena and discord developed rapidly between the two. In December 2005, Raj quit the Shiv Sena, claiming he had "suffered" in the party.
After a state-wide tour, in March 2006, Raj announced the formation of a new political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The new party is pledged to the building of a vibrant, dynamic Maharashtra. At age 38, Raj is busy cultivating the image of a thinking young politician, open to the changing times and considerate towards Dalits and Muslim minorities, quite unlike the firebrand Hindu parochialism of Bal Thackeray's party. While Raj has publicly maintained that he does not want to break the Shiv Sena, that is precisely what he seems to be aiming at. Bombay's civic elections are due in the first week of February, and for Raj and the MNS they will the first crucial test.