Rally lifts party’s sagging spirits

Rally lifts party’s sagging spirits

After a poor performance in the recent Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, the show of strength by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray during Tuesday’s march to protest the Azad Maidan riot has galvanised the party rank and file. “Raj Thackeray has taken an edge over other opposition parties. The MNS may be a small party in the legislature, but since it is a party of the youth, enthusiasm will be generated among them,” said a senior MNS leader. A MNS functionary added that the protest had revitalised the party and the workers and also helped project a positive image before the media and the masses. He added that such agitations would help keep the cadre active before the 2014 polls. Though the party managed to sweep all seven seats in the Shiv Sena heartland of Dadar, MNS office bearers admitted that infighting and ego battles in the party played a part in their poor performance in the BMC polls, where the seat tally of 28 was far less than their estimate of over 50 seats. Speaking at a meeting of party office bearers later, Raj Thackeray is reported to have said that he had more enemies within the party than outside it, and had also sought reports from office bearers on the reasons for the electoral setback. However, MNS leaders admit that though there was an undercurrent of Hindutva assertion in their agitation, it was not possible for them to openly veer towards Hindutva, as they also enjoyed support from a section of the Muslim community, including Marathi speaking Muslims. “The agitation had an undercurrent of Hindutva, but it will not be possible for us to take a pro- Hindutva stance as we have support from a section of the Muslim community,” a MNS MLA said, adding that taking on such political hues would lead to these sections disassociating themselves from the MNS. Speaking at Tuesday’s rally, Raj Thackeray had rejected contentions that he was veering towards Hindutva, and said, “Raj Thackeray understands only one religion—Maharashtra Dharma. I do not understand any religion other than that.”