Why BEST society polls will be first ground test of Uddhav-Raj Thackeray pact

India Today

8 hours ago

Amidst growing speculation about a political reconciliation being on the cards between estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray, president of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, their parties are set to test the waters in a local election in Mumbai.The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS have decided to ally for elections to the prestigious BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) cooperative credit society. The society has around 15,000 voters and a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore. Elections to the 21 seats will take place on August 18.advertisementDespite the localised nature of this poll, the verdict will reveal if the Marathi manoos in Mumbai will stand by the Thackeray cousins in case they join forces politically. BEST workers are predominantly Maharashtrian. Suhas Samant, president of the BEST Kamgar Sena, the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s union in the civic body and the BEST, said the two parties had decided to ally in the polls. 'The MNS decided to ally with us in line with the intent of the two brothers to join forces. So, we are ready to give them two seats,' he said.
Sandeep Deshpande, Mumbai city president of the MNS, confirmed the development. The MNS will get two of the 21 seats to contest from.The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS alliance will test its strength against a host of labour unions and competing panels, including those led by former Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane; BJP MLC Prasad Lad; BEST workers' union leader Shashank Rao, and the Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS 'Utkarsha panel' will face off against these unions, which have formed a joint front. This includes Lad and BJP MLC Pravin Darekar's Kamgar Utkarsha Sabha, Rane's Samartha Kamgar Sanghathana, Shiv Sena leader Kiran Pawaskar's Rashtriya Karmachari Sena, Mahendra Salve's union for SC, ST, OBC, and VJNT employees, and late RPI leader Manoj Sansare's union. The BEST Kamgar Sena has been controlling the 84-year-old credit society for the past nine years. Earlier, the BEST credit society has been controlled by socialist leaders like Narayan Phenany, a close associate of former Union minister George Fernandes; and Fernandes's close-aide-turned-foe Sharad Rao, who controlled the Municipal Mazdoor Union (MMU). The opponents of the Shiv Sena (UBT) claim it has mismanaged the affairs of the society after taking the reins. Before launching the MNS, Raj, a former president of the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS), the now-defunct student wing of the undivided Shiv Sena, was seen as his uncle and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's political successor. However, he had to gradually make way for elder first cousin Uddhav in the party, and eventually quit it in 2005 to set up the MNS the next year.The Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS were mauled in the assembly elections last year. The Shiv Sena (UBT)'s strength in the legislative assembly dwindled to just 20 while the MNS, which had won one seat in 2019, was wiped out; even Raj's son Amit lost the Mahim seat.advertisementThe assembly election defeat led to the two parties making overtures to each other, with Uddhav and Raj reported to have taken the initiative to open lines of communication for a possible patch-up.The two saw a political opening in the Mahayuti government's controversial move to make Hindi the mandatory third language for students from classes 1 to 5. Stakeholders had pointed to how this will involve learning and educational challenges for students as they were too young to learn a third language in schools. If a third language was included in the primary curriculum, this could result in the weightage to crucial subjects, such as mathematics, being reduced.On July 5, Uddhav and Raj shared the stage in a protest meeting at Worli in Mumbai, espousing a joint cause of protecting Marathi. Sources say that while an alliance may be on the cards, much depends on the outcome of the seat-sharing talks.While the opposition to the move to make Hindi mandatory had been launched by academicians and civil society groups, such as Deepak Pawar of the Marathi Abhyas Kendra, it was the prospect of the two Thackerays joining hands on the issue of Marathi pride that seemed to have forced the Devendra Fadnavis government to rethink and stay the move.advertisementThe undivided Shiv Sena is seen as a party with an emotive base, and the two Thackerays joining forces could galvanise their core Marathi voters in Mumbai and the surrounding areas and pay dividends in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls due this year.In Mumbai, the BJP is seen as a party with a strong base among non-Marathi speaking groups, such as Gujaratis, Marwaris, Jains and north Indians, putting it on the back foot. A senior leader of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is part of the Mahayuti, said the Thackerays joining forces would only help coalesce the non-Marathi voters in favour of the BJP. In contrast, the Marathi voters may splinter between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS combine, Shinde's Shiv Sena and other parties. However, the leader noted, that Shinde may end up losing his political space if the Thackerays were to come together.advertisementSubscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch