Mumbai: Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is fighting a legal battle to claim the legacy of his father, the late Bal Thackeray, founded the Shiv Sena, said on Thursday that not only the party's future but democracy in the country was at stake. He was speaking at the Shiv Sena Bhavan in Mumbai's Dadar area, where he inducted former minister Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal into his faction. In a speech following his induction, Thackeray stated that despite claims that the Shiv Sena had split and was no longer relevant, people were still flocking to him. After a rebellion led by MLA Eknath Shinde, the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed in June of this year.
Shinde was later sworn in as chief minister with the support of the BJP. The Shiv Sena factions led by Thackeray and Shinde were barred earlier this month from using the party name and election symbol 'bow and arrow' in the November 3 Andheri East Assembly bypoll. It designated 'ShivSena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray' as the Thackeray faction's party name, and 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' (Balasaheb's Shiv Sena) as the Shinde faction's party name. The EC also assigned new poll symbols to the competing groups. Thackeray on Thursday said, "The common man and especially civilised people of the state are not agreeing with what has happened and are extending their support. They tell me don't give up, fight, we are with you. We don't agree with what's happening."
"People whom I thought would never be politically close are coming out in support. Similarly, people of different religions and regions are extending support. It is not just the future of Shiv Sena but the democracy of the country is at stake," the former chief minister added. He said people need to ask themselves whether democracy will stay alive or they would go back to slavery. "My future and that of my party will be decided by the people and the party cadre," he said. Deshmukh, who joined the Thackeray faction on Thursday, was an MLA for two terms from Digras in Yavatmal. He had earlier been with the Shiv Sena and also served as a minister in the Congress-led Democratic Front government between 2002 and 2004. He was also with the BJP for a brief while.
(With agencies' inputs)
