Kamal Ghorui
UBT faction chief Uddhav Thackeray expressed his thoughts in a speech as his term as a Member of the Legislative Council came to an end. He concluded his speech by quoting a poem by Suresh Bhat.
Through this poem, he tried to suggest that he did not understand political calculations and was tormented by many as he failed to grasp those political tactics. It was known that Uddhav Thackeray is a master of taunts and an expert at cracking jokes that no one understands. But he still considers himself inexperienced in politics… now, that was something new.
By claiming to be extremely inexperienced in politics, he has revealed yet another facet of himself. Even though he knows that even his family would not believe this claim, why he insists on calling himself innocent is an interesting subject of study. There are unwritten conventions regarding what should be said in speeches at farewell functions held when the term of membership in Parliament or the Legislature comes to an end.
Uddhav Thackeray could not even follow the basic etiquette of keeping his farewell speech free of allegations and bitterness.
Anyways… The main issue was the political conduct of ‘UBT’. Characters like Duryodhana, Dushasana, Shakuni mama and Shishupala from the Mahabharata come to mind after reviewing Uddhav Thackeray’s journey so far.
Uddhav Thackeray, who inherited the legacy of a glorious, fiercely nationalist and straightforward leader like respected Balasaheb Thackeray, has tarnished that legacy in the journey so far.
In fact, his very entry into politics showed how seasoned he was in this field. While Balasaheb and his loyalists were struggling to build the Shiv Sena, his nephew Raj Thackeray contributed to this effort through his work in the Vidyarthi Sena.
Balasaheb Thackeray created a massive wave of Hindutva during the 1990 and 1995 Assembly elections. Hindutva was an important ideological thread in the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance.
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance was formed in 1989. There were disagreements between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena on several issues including seat sharing from 1989 until the death of the respected Balasaheb in 2012.
However, Balasaheb Thackeray and the then BJP leadership were always careful about not stretching these disagreements to the point of a break-up. Barring the 1992 Mumbai Municipal Corporation election, the BJP and Shiv Sena contested the Lok Sabha, Assembly and municipal elections together as an alliance until 2012.
In the 2007 and 2012 Presidential elections respected Balasaheb’s stand was different from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He decided to support Congress. But, while taking such a stand, he had taken the BJP leadership into confidence.
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will be recorded as the longest-lasting coalition in the political history of the country. Balasaheb Thackeray never committed betrayal in politics. He was vocal about his differences with the BJP leadership. Balasaheb, who never abandoned his principles and beliefs for power, was well aware of political calculations.
Therefore, on several occasions he followed a policy of not stretching differences beyond a certain limit. He never insisted on a larger power share for the Shiv Sena when the National Democratic Alliance government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power from 1998 to 2004. Balasaheb’s politics was aggressive, yet mature.
Uddhav Thackeray was not involved in developments unfolding in Shiv Sena until the party came to power in alliance with the BJP in 1995. Uddhavrao’s interest in politics grew after the alliance came to power. Once he realized the importance of power, he systematically moved to gain absolute control of the party. Until then, Raj Thackeray was considered Balasaheb’s political heir.
Many senior leaders in the Shiv Sena can still remember the political tactics used by Uddhav Thackeray to sideline Raj Thackeray and take control of the party. How can someone be called inexperienced in politics when he took control of the party while keeping his cousin Raj Thackeray (whose mother and Uddhav’s mother were also sisters) completely in the dark? After having himself appointed as the working president of Shiv Sena in 2003, Uddhav Thackeray used political tactics to sideline Balasaheb’s trusted and influential leaders.
A staunch Shiv Sainik like Narayan Rane left the party as he was fed up with this politics. Uddhav Thackeray also ended coordination with the BJP leadership after taking the reins of the Shiv Sena. Respected Balasaheb was aware that in politics, while moving forward, sometimes you need to take a few steps back as well.
Uddhav Thackeray failed to understand that. Uddhav Thackeray took an extremely rigid stance when the BJP leadership demanded 25 more seats than the previous seat-sharing formula in the 2014 Assembly elections. This stubbornness led to the breakup of the 25-year-old BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Uddhav Thackeray’s subsequent politics showed his shallow, immature and vindictive nature.
Uddhav Thackeray used extremely offensive language while criticizing the BJP leadership when he contested the 2014 Assembly elections independently. Back then, the Shiv Sena was an alliance partner of the Modi government at the Centre.
Thanks to Uddhav Thackeray, we witnessed the bizarre spectacle of an alliance partner targeting the main partner while enjoying the perks of power at the Centre. When the BJP formed the government under Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray went one step ahead than Congress-NCP in opposing BJP, which eventually closed all possibilities of reconciliation between the Shiv Sena and the BJP. Even then, the BJP leadership took the initiative to bring the Shiv Sena into the government.
Uddhav Thackeray and his colleagues continued to oppose the Modi government and the BJP while enjoying power at both the Centre and the State. Uddhav Thackeray remained indifferent to the contradictions arising from this. He even went one step further in 2019 and broke the pre-poll alliance with the BJP to join hands with Congress-NCP, just to get the post of Chief Minister.
He also created a fuss that BJP leadership had promised the Chief Minister’s post for two and a half years. Who would dare call Uddhav Thackeray an inexperienced player in politics after witnessing this journey of betrayal? In fact, contrary to what he suggested in his farewell speech through the poem, it is actually Uddhav Thackeray who has harassed everyone around him.
He is the master of this game who knows exactly how to fulfil his own aspirations without caring for anyone else. Therefore, more than 50 MLAs and MPs left Uddhav Thackeray. That is why it is a pity to see Uddhav Thackeray struggling to convince others that he is innocent.
END OF ARTICLE
