In Mumbai바카라s twin city, another bursting-at-its-seams megapolis, Thane, a departed leader바카라s legacy is at the heart of an interesting electoral face-off.
Photos of the brooding-eyed and bearded Anand Dighe, a former Sena strongman, stare from rival poll banners featuring both Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the current head of the 바카라original바카라 Shiv Sena, and his main electoral contender, Kedar, Dighe바카라s 44-year-old nephew, who is contesting from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction.
The two are vying for control of the Kopari-Pachpakhadi constituency, a traditional stronghold of middle-class Maharashtrian families, including residents of old gaothan areas, emerging high-rises, and slum settlements바카라and, of course, for Dighe바카라s political legacy. Dighe was a guru and Shinde his bhakt, while Kedar is eager to tap into his late uncle바카라s social and political legacy.
바카라I don바카라t need to release two movies to showcase my relationship with Dighe saheb. He is my uncle and I바카라ve performed his last rites,바카라 Kedar (42) says, mentioning Dighe바카라s untimely death in 2001. The legacy of the late Anand Dighe has taken centre-stage in Marathi cinema over the past few years, marked by the release of a two-part biopic. The first film, Dharmaveer, released in 2022 just before Shinde바카라s rebellion from the Shiv Sena, was followed by its sequel, Dharmaveer: Mukkam Post Thane, launched ahead of the upcoming assembly polls. Both films depict Dighe바카라s life journey and position Shinde as his rightful political heir.
바카라Shinde may claim to be Dighe바카라s political heir, but this decision has to be made by the people,바카라 Kedar remarks, adding that the CM has been misusing Dighe바카라s name and photos in order to promote himself.
Shinde has been an MLA from the Kopari-Pachpakhadi constituency three times since 2009. He served as Thane바카라s guardian minister and was a local civic body corporator, starting as a rookie Sena worker in the 80s under Dighe바카라s guidance. Kedar, a former software analyst, left his SAP job to join Sena full-time in 2010. He led the party바카라s youth wing in Thane and is now its district in-charge.
Kedar is unlikely to pull off a major upset in the contest, which is increasingly being seen as a one-sided battle.
Kedar says he was prepared to take on a heavyweight like Shinde since 2022, the year Shinde rebelled and split the Shiv Sena into two factions. 바카라I did not agree with many actions of Shinde, the way he defined Dighe Saheb바카라s values and principles, his definition of Hindutva. I met Uddhav Saheb and asked for the responsibility of the Thane region, and the party decided to give me a ticket.바카라
His nomination has energised the small group of Dighe loyalists in Thane who have remained with Thackeray바카라s Sena. Former corporator and women바카라s wing leader Rekha Khopkar enthusiastically backs Kedar바카라s campaign. 바카라We only want to see Shinde바카라s defeat. He betrayed us; he is a traitor.바카라
Maruti Repe, Shiv Sena (UBT) shakha pramukh (branch head) from Thane바카라s Wagle Estate area, is another old timer supporting him. 바카라During public interactions, it is clear to us that people are not happy with the Shinde government. They are realising that the common people are being taken for a ride with freebies and cash allowances. They want change.바카라
After Anand Dighe, the Shiv Sena in the Thane region grew under Shinde바카라s leadership. Following the split, most of the party바카라s cadre and functionaries joined his faction. Repe claims those with Shinde are opportunistic Sena workers and 바카라contractors바카라 who hopped on to his side for sake of their business interests. 바카라The true Sainiks are still with Thackeray saheb,바카라 he adds.
A week before voting, both candidates바카라 campaigns appear sluggish. As Shiv Sena바카라s lead campaigner, Shinde is occupied with rallies supporting his party바카라s 85 candidates across Maharashtra. Shinde바카라s Sena candidates will face-off directly against Sena (UBT) in 51 constituencies, including Kopar-Pachpakhadi. Shinde바카라s trusted aide, Sena MP Naresh Mhaske, is leading the ground campaign in Kopari-Pachpakhadi. He highlights Shinde바카라s achievements as chief minister, focusing on welfare schemes for the elderly and women, such as free bus rides, the Ladki Bahin Scheme with a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 and the distribution of three free gas cylinders. Mhaske recently won a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections from Thane, defeating Sena (UBT) candidate Rajan Vichare by over two lakh votes.
At the party바카라s office in Wagle Estate, a former industrial area now home to a residential settlement of chawls, slums, and dilapidated buildings, Kedar is surrounded by a handful of Sena loyalists preparing voters바카라 lists for his campaign. Despite it being his first big electoral fight and having started his ground campaign only a fortnight ago, he doesn바카라t appear tense or anxious. 바카라The CM should show us one big project that he has launched in the Kopari-Pachpakhadi area in the last 15 years. The wide roads and beautification projects look good from the outside, but this has not made any difference in the lives of common people. They are all living in appalling conditions,바카라 Kedar says. His campaign is focused on improving basic infrastructure, upgrading municipal schools, launching super-speciality hospitals, reviving stalled cluster redevelopment of old chawls and closing down a nearby dumping ground.
According to political observers, Kedar is unlikely to pull off a major upset in the contest, which is increasingly being seen as a one-sided battle. Besides the two Shiv Sena factions, Raj Thackeray바카라s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is also in the fray with its candidate, Ashish Jadhav, making the polls in Kopari-Pachpakhadi a slugfest between three Sena outfits.
Thane-based journalist Abhay Deshpande, who has closely followed Sena바카라s politics in the region, says there is likely to be a division of the traditional Marathi vote bank among the three Senas. However, Shinde, he maintains, has a clear edge over his opponents. 바카라He has held strong control over the party and its cadre in the city. Plus, being a CM, he has more advantage. People are likely to choose him as a trusted and safe option over other party candidates,바카라 Deshpande says. In the case of Kedar, he adds, beyond being Anand Dighe바카라s nephew, he doesn바카라t have a separate identity, nor is he too active in the social or political field.
The release of the twin Dharamveer movies has sparked curiosity about a potential duel between Dighe and Shinde. While the two are being positioned in a contest over Dighe바카라s legacy, Deshpande believes that, beyond the emotional undercurrent, the narrative doesn바카라t hold much sway among common voters. Dighe was a powerful figure in the 80s and 90s when Thane was an emerging city, living on the margins of law. A respected and feared Sena leader, he delivered swift justice and resolved social issues through his kangaroo courts. His politics, which combined religious nationalism with social work, made him popular among Marathi locals and youth. Many of those he mentored went on to become senior leaders and ministers within the Sena.
The rapid development of Thane in recent decades with plush-gated residential colonies, malls and the steady immigration of a non-Maharashtrian workforce has, however, transformed the city into a cosmopolitan metro.
The younger generation of Thanekars has not even seen Dighe, Deshpande points out. 바카라Dighe is relevant only because of Shinde바카라s assertion that he was his spiritual mentor and to differentiate his faction of Sena from Thackeray바카라s Sena.바카라
(This appeared in the print as 'Bhakt Versus Blood')
