Mumbai Mutiny ; Raj Thackeray Unfurls a Banner of Revolt Against His Cousin Uddhav, Virtually Triggering a Split That Could Spell Doom for the Shiv Sena

Summary

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Years ago, Raj Thackeray, cartoonist and Shiv Sena leader, voiced an idea for a sci-fi film on the chaos that would follow if earth's gravity were to be shut off for five minutes. Steven Spielberg did not come knocking, but Raj's dream nearly came to life when he faxed a letter to his uncle Bal Thackeray, resigning from all party posts, including the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, the party's student wing he headed for over a decade, and questioning the Sena's electoral defeats in the past three years.

Stepping on to a dais erected near Krishna Kunj, his home flanking Dadar's historic Shivaji Park, Raj lambasted the party leadership, including his cousin and party President Uddhav Thackeray, calling them "karakoons" or clerks who were running the party. He also added that "badawas" (priests at the Vithoba temple) were coming between the lord-Bal Thackeray-and party workers. His supporters, over 3,000 of whom had gathered from all over the state, roared in approval, flipped over Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut's car and threatened to torch it. Raut had been sent by Bal Thackeray as a peace emissary.

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Mumbai Mutiny ; Raj Thackeray Unfurls a Banner of Revolt Against His Cousin Uddhav, Virtually Triggering a Split That Could Spell Doom for the Shiv Sena

Raj's muscle-flexing had the desired effect of switching off the gravity in the Shiv Sena, bringing to fore the succession battle. It was not without symbolism. The demonstrations were just a stone's throw away from Shivaji Park, where in 1966 a young cartoonist, Bal Thackeray, had called for...

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