Thackerays is ‘detached’ from the party name and emblem for the first time in Sena history: The decision by the Election Commission to give the Shiv Sena name and emblem to the section led by Eknath Shinde that broke away is a severe setback for the Thackerays, the party’s founders, and, for nearly all of its history, its first family.
The Sena’s patriarch Bal Thackeray was the party’s identity from its founding on June 19, 1966, till Shinde took away a significant portion of the party in 2022. His fiery persona complemented the Sainiks’ reputation as a group not afraid to use force to further the party’s goals. With its association with both Chhatrapati Shivaji (from whom the Sena derives its name) and Hindutva iconography, the “bow and arrow” emblem, also known as the “dhanush-baan,” completed the composition.
The backbone of the Sena has always been its foot troops, despite the fact that Sr. Thackeray‘s influence over Mumbai propelled him to the pinnacles of power and allowed him to mingle with influential people from Delhi to the state capital.
With his father’s passing, son Uddhav Thackeray already had a lot of ground to make up since the BJP had seized the opportunity it perceived in the state. Uddhav chose to leave the BJP and work with the NCP and Congress to establish his dominance.
Also read: JMI does not intend to use CUET for all of its UG and PG programmes
The Sena-NCP-Congress administration had already suffered the first blow when Shinde expelled 40 Sena MLAs, toppling it along with whole local units. The Election Commission order arrives just as Uddhav had calmed the ship and was fending off accusations that he had “betrayed” Hindutva and thereby Balasaheb by switching sides.
Everyone is wondering whether Sainiks who had remained loyal to the Thackerays throughout the turmoil will do so in the future given the Shinde faction’s formal endorsement.
