More lost than gained, a sorry reign

 

 

Everyone is busy deciphering and analysing the legal implications of the recent decision given by Rahul Narvekar, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. This verdict legally sealed the transfer of power that took place in June 2022. The outcry by Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut after this verdict was expected. This article isn’t an attempt to interpret the decision from a legal perspective but to bring to the fore how politically irresponsible Uddhav Thackeray is.

    If one has to evaluate Uddhav Thackeray’s journey, from the time he entered politics till this time when the Legislative Assembly Speaker gave this decision, one will find umpteen instances of his political dereliction of duties. His journey resembles that of Raghoba dada, one of Nana saheb Peshwa’s brother and Duryodhana from Mahabharata. His extreme ambition for power and innate nature of intrigues, makes him a perfect blend of both, Raghobadada and Duryodhana. Raghoba dada had joined hands with the British to get the Peshwa throne by betraying his blood relations and Duryodhana treacherously deprived his cousins of their rightful kingdom. Instead of working towards taking venerable Balasaheb Thackeray’s political legacy ahead, Uddhav Thackeray ensured that his glorious past recedes.

Acting on his patriarch Prabodhankar Thackeray’s instructions, Balasaheb had built an organization that started a movement for the Marathi Manoos. And he toiled to build this organization strong enough to raise a movement for the sons of the soil. He put planned efforts and took help from the Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti. While setting up a movement against the established system, he created strong organizational support for his associates. And in doing so, he made sure to affectionately and compassionately cherish the common Shiv Sainiks who got connected with him through these Samitis.

To survive in politics, merely gearing up for struggles or connecting people and preserving them is not sufficient, one has to have political wisdom. During the 1980s, Balasaheb showed his political prowess when he took up Hindutva issue and later, during 1987 by-election to the Vile Parle Assembly constituency and 1988 Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar’s municipal elections, Balasaheb maintained and strongly advocated Hindutva. After joining hands with the BJP, he went around the state and tirelessly worked towards strengthening Shiv Sena’s roots right up to the village level. Before the 1995 Assembly elections, Balasaheb toured the state and openly showed his opposition against Sharad Pawar and the then Congress. Today, when we compare Balasaheb’s journey with his son Uddhav, we will find a big void. Uddhav Thackeray proved through his deeds that ‘it is easier to build a fortune than to keep one.’

In fact, I wonder if Uddhav Thackeray even knows that to build a party organization, one has to step on the ground and work at the grass root level. He forgot that ‘God helps those who helps themselves’ and in politics, people have the right to send inefficient people back home. He forgot that he cannot forever survive on Balasaheb’s charisma and virtue. Whatever stature Balasaheb achieved in politics was self-earned. And it was Uddhav Thackeray’s job to take this legacy ahead, learn the intricacies and tactics of politics and take immediate steps to fight for people’s rights, at times by stepping out on the field. But Uddhav Thackeray refused to pay any heed and retained his ‘self-obsession’.

Balasaheb’s Matoshree bungalow was always open for his activists and the common people. Uddhav Thackeray not only shut the doors of Matoshree but he also shut himself from his activists and common people, to an extent that even Shiv Sena’s office bearers and public representatives were not able to meet him easily. Failing to realize that the generation of people who were active during Balasaheb’s era will also fade with time, Uddhav Thackeray should have worked towards creating the next generation of activists to carry Shiv Sena’s legacy ahead, but he only kept reaping benefits of his position. This inaction resulted in gradual weakening of the party organization. And in this bargain, the ordinary worker at the grassroot level createda parallel system with backing from a brand like Shiv Sena.

Uddhav Thackeray, who had never toured the state to further strengthen his party organization, failed to prove his motive behind entering active politics. In 2014, he didn’t show enough maturity while forming an alliance with the BJP over the seat allocation by taking a step back. He always maintained that ‘they are the big brother in the alliance and that the BJP will not get even a seat extra’. He forgot that arrogance holds no place in politics. During the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, his bubble burst. He got weary while trying to retain power. Still, he hasn’t changed a bit.

After the 2019 Assembly elections, his long pending ambition of becoming the chief minister resurfaced. He got the desired position by betraying the BJP but he failed to create his independent identity in politics by practicing good governance. From 2019 to 2022, Uddhav Thackeray became reckless and unavailable for his MLAs, let alone the ministers of his Maha Vikas Aghadi government which resulted in his getting extinct from politics.

Uddhav Thackeray did not wake up even after his colleagues staged a walkout against his recklessness. His inaction is the reason for his current state. Even now, he does not have the guts to step out of Matoshree and rebuild his party organization. And those leaders who have retained their positions in politics no longer need Uddhav Thackeray’s help for their political progress.

I am sure even Sanjay Raut, Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide, might not be expecting Uddhav Thackeray to stage a political uprise like the latter’s patriarch. When one looks at his political journey, one wonders why this gentleman even ventured into politics. By cursing the Legislative Assembly Speaker, Uddhav Thackeray once again proved that he has failed to learn any lessons from his past experiences. Preserving the legacy of ideologies, wealth, achievement and art is not a trivial task. Many have failed to ably carry forward these inherited legacies. Biju Patnaik’s son Naveen Patnaik is an exception, he enriched his father’s legacy with activism. Even young leader like Jagmohan Reddy broke out of the Congress, went against the flow and created an independent space for himself. When one sits down to add up what Uddhav Thackeray earned and lost during his tenure, the sum total comes to a big zero. He failed to retain what he inherited. ‘More lost than gained, a sorry reign’. Uddhav Thackeray’s journey can thus be concluded – ‘Like a wilted rose, once vibrant and bold, the inherited garden grows cold.’

 

(Article Pre-Published in Times of India -15 January 2024)

Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson