The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Friday formed an alliance with a prominent Maratha organisation called Sambhaji Brigade. Announcing the new tie-up, the former chief minister of Maharashtra said that the alliance was ideological and forged to uphold the Constitution and regional pride. This move came after Uddhav-led Sena lost power in the state due to a rebellious attack by its MLA Eknath Shinde and other legislators.
Addressing a press conference, Thackeray launched an attack on his former ally the BJP, and said that “some people” who think that democracy means finishing off regional identity and regional parties are speaking and behaving in an uncontrolled manner.
In 2004, Sambhaji Brigade had hit national headlines when its activists allegedly ransacked the Pune-based Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute as part of protests against an objectionable passage in James Laine’s biography of King Shivaji. However, the accused in the case were acquitted in 2017.
When asked about the ideological dissonance that might arise in the tie-up, Sena chief Thackeray asked whether the saffron party was working according to the RSS’s ideals. Over the last two months, he was being contacted by parties that are ideologically closer to the Shiv Sena and also those whose ideology is diametrically opposite, he said, adding, “But all these parties think that they should come together to save regional pride and regional parties.”
On the current legal battle between his faction and the rebel Sena MLAs led by Shinde in the Supreme Court, Thackeray said the outcome will decide whether there will be democracy or autocracy in the country.
Meanwhile, Sambhaji Brigade chief Manoj Akhare said the organisation formed its political wing in 2016. “The Shiv Sena and Sambhaji Brigade have decided to form a coordination committee for seamless functioning of the alliance,” he said.
(with inputs from PTI)
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