As a skirmish broke out in Dapoli in Ratnagiri on Saturday over control of a local shakha, officials with the Uddhav Thackeray’s faction said the shakha network was still with them and was going nowhere. On the other hand, some observers said the Shinde Sena can capture shakhas slowly and gradually.
Sena’s front organizations and unions will be another bone of contention with Shinde’s group recognized as the real Shiv Sena by the Election Commission. How Uddhav’s faction can, without the party name and emblem, maintain shakhas and officials is another matter.
Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) celebrating after ECI named them after party symbol Shiv Sena
The Sena has 227 shakhas in Mumbai and about 500 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), including the Shinde stronghold of Thane, but they are mostly owned by the shakha pramukhs, local leaders and trusts. Hardly any of the shakhas are owned by the Shiv Sena party itself.
Shinde Sena officials said they are confident the shakha pramukhs will now swear allegiance to the real Shiv Sena, and the first indication of this will be the removal of photos of Uddhav and Aaditya from the shakhas. They will be replaced with photos of CM Eknath Shinde alongside those of Sena founder, the late Balasaheb Thackeray, and the late heavyweight Thane Anand Dighe, whom Shinde regards as his political mentor.
EC recognizes the Eknath Shinde faction as the true Shiv Sena
A bitter but more tactical and legal struggle is bound to erupt for the control of Sena workers’ groups and unions in central government and state institutions, such as the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena and Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samitiand wings in private organizations such as hotels and corporate groups. Much of the Senate’s muscle, economic power, and influence come from its hold on these unions and organizations for decades.
In the Senate, the shakhas and front organizations are said to be the political capital and movers of the party, along with the party spokesman Saamna.
“Shiv Sena Bhavan and our shakhas will not be taken over by the Shinde faction only due to the order of the EC. Our Shiv Sainiks will sit there and that seat will serve as a branch of Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena festival is ours. A party goes nowhere because a few people sitting in the chair have made up their minds. Sena shakhas including Shiv Sena Bhavan will remain with us”, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut She said.
