Sena vs Sena Tussle Heats Up Over Dussehra Rally as Shinde-Thackeray Factions Fight for Party Legacy | Why Shivaji Park is in Focus
By: News Desk
Edited By: Nayanika Sengupta
Last Updated: September 22, 2022, 13:05 IST
Mumbai, India
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde (left) and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray. (Photos: PTI/File)
The Thackeray faction said that they were informed by the BMC on Thursday morning that they have been denied permission owing to law and order situation
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In fresh showdown in the Sena vs Sena tussle, both Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray-led factions of Shiv Sena have approached the Bombay High Court over Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
Both the factions were denied permission on Thursday morning by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for holding Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai, citing law and order issue raised by Mumbai Police.
BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said that the civic administration has denied permission to both the Shiv Sena factions for holding a rally at the Shivaji Park on the occasion of Dussehra on October 5. The civic body has sent letters to both the factions conveying about the denial of permission, officials said.
While Bombay HC was scheduled to hear on Thursday the plea of Shiv Sena's Thackeray faction seeking nod for the rally from BMC, the hearing was deferred after the faction sought time to amend their petition. The hearing has now been scheduled for Friday, September 23.
Meanwhile, MLA Sada Sarvankar, of the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, had filed an intervention plea in the Bombay High Court on Thursday, seeking the court to not hear or decide the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena's petition for permission to hold their annual Dussehra rally. The hearing on this, too, will take place tomorrow.
Shivaji Park Turns Battleground for Sena vs Sena Over Dussehra Celebration
The Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena battle took yet another turn ahead of the festive season as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction got the nod to hold its Dussehra rally at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) ground in Mumbai — a location also sought by the Uddhav Thackeray camp.
For the Shiv Sena, the Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park is a major annual event and while that stays the original choice for both factions, they had also filed an application seeking permission to use the BKC ground.
Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, while speaking to the media few days ago, demanded that the Thackeray camp should be allowed to use Shivaji Park as per the first-come, first-served formula applied by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) while granting permission to the Shinde faction.
"I have received information that the MMRDA has given permission to their camp. And it was said that they filed the application first. If this is the case, Shiv Sena filed the application for Shiv Tirth first. That's why we should get permission. This filthy politics should be stopped. From Shiv Sena's formation till last year, every Dussehra rally has been held at Shiv Tirth," he said.
Thackeray vs Shinde Rivalry During Ganesh Chaturthi
The Thackeray vs Shinde rivalry over Shiv Sena claim in Maharashtra found its way into the Ganesh Chaturthi festival as well with CM Shinde touring Ganpati pandals in a bid to establish presence of his faction in a city where supporters of Shiv Sena have traditionally been loyal to the Uddhav Thackeray.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reportedly went on an 'outreach' overdrive, visiting about 50-60 local Ganpati pandals in the city each day.
Meanwhile, the two factions were even seen clashing during a Ganpati visarjan procession in the Dadar area of Mumbai. A reception counter was set up by both the Shinde faction and the Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena in Dadar for Ganesh Visarjan. Workers from both groups reportedly mocked and fought with each other in these reception rooms and even raised slogans against each other.
The argument, which took place on the night of the Ganpati Visarjan procession, turned into a scuffle after a social media post. Shinde group's member Santosh Telwane had targeted the Shiv Sena by posting a video on Facebook.
In another incident, a public Ganesh mandal in Kalyan neighbouring Mumbai refused to install the idol and perform puja after the police removed pandal decorations designed on the theme of the 'split' in the Shiv Sena during Ganesh Chaturthi.
"Our Vijay Tarun Mandal has been celebrating Ganesh festival for 59 years. We chose a theme based on the burning topic of the year. This year, we had chosen the political theme where we had shown Shiv Sena as an age-old tree which cannot be uprooted even if few branches are cut or fruits are snatched," Shiv Sena leader Vijay Salvi, who is known to be a loyalist of Uddhav Thackeray, was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
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