'When one says Shivaji Park, it brings to mind the Shiv Sena led by Balasaheb Thackeray. And that Shiv Sena is now Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena'
The 'flaming torch' symbol was used by the Sena in the past during civic body and assembly polls.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday slammed the Maharashtra government saying that "Mughal rule" was prevailing in the state, and declared that he would contest the next assembly election from Thane, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's bastion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress and its allies of plotting to have a separate Constitution for Kashmir and working to restore Article 370. Addressing a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, Modi claimed the Congress is speaking the language of Pakistan and that every Indian wants only Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution in Kashmir. He also highlighted the BJP's fulfillment of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's wish by renaming Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, emphasizing the Congress's opposition to the decision. Modi further contrasted the BJP's focus on national pride and development with the Congress's alleged support for Aurangzeb. He pointed out the BJP's achievements in granting classical language status to Marathi and attracting maximum FDI in Maharashtra after forming the Mahayuti government.
The Shiv Sena Bhavan is controlled by 'Shivai Seva Trust'. Its founding trustees include late Bal Thackeray and his wife late Meena Thackeray. Many of the founding trustees are not alive now.
A case was filed against Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray, party executive president Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navanirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for making inflammatory speeches against migrants from Bihar and its people.
Bal Thackeray never considered caste while giving tickets or appointing ministers when the Shiv Sena came to power, notes political commentator Prakash Bal Joshi. 'He had the guts to take decisions against popular sentiment on the basis of his convictions.'
The former Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the "bow and arrow" symbol became famous due to the tireless work of Bal Thackeray.
Security was beefed up across Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai where 20,000 police personnel were deployed, to keep a tight vigil following the death of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray in Mumbai on Saturday.
The Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde has decided to withdraw its application submitted to the Mumbai civic body seeking permission to hold a rally on Dussehra at the iconic Shivaji Park ground in Mumbai, a party MLA said on Tuesday afternoon.
Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Daniel Pande and Rajesh Karkera snap up the way supporters have been paying the respects to Bal Thackeray during his funeral procession
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has shifted its focus back to Hindutva after suffering significant losses in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections. The party has been vocal about attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and has taken a stance to "protect" a Hanuman Temple in Mumbai. Observers say this move is an attempt to regain its core voter base and counter the BJP's narrative on Hindutva, ahead of the upcoming civic polls. Analysts believe the party's "secular" stand may not be effective in the BMC elections and that its return to Hindutva is a sign of frustration from electoral setbacks.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Friday defended Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari, who has been accused of receiving illegal favours in land allotment from Maharashtra's Congress-NJationalist Congress Party government.
Hitting out at Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray and his family members for targetting Bihari migrants in Maharashtra, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Sunday claimed that the Thackerays were infiltrators as their forefathers had hailed from Bihar.
With the Aurangabad police on Tuesday registering an offence against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Raj Thackeray over his speech against loudspeakers on mosques, some party leaders slammed the Maharashtra government and said they will hit the streets in case of further action against their party head.
The elder son of party chief Uddhav Thackeray will become the first member of the clan ever to contest an election.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who is undergoing treatment for weakness and fever at the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai has been shifted to a special room from the Intensive Care Unit and is likely to be discharged by Friday, doctors attending on him said on Wednesday.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has opposed caste-based census, saying it was detrimental to the interests of the country.
Calling him a man of great "grit" and "conviction", Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar and Ajay Devgnn condoled the demise of Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray on Sunday
Close on the heels of the Sena's success in the civic polls in Mumbai, Thackeray was ordered to be present in court on March 28 by Metropolitan Magistrate M B Date, who had earlier issued summons to him on three occasions.
The Shiv Sena chief will be the first from the Thackeray family to be sworn in as the chief minister.
While top politicians shirked from making any comment on Bal Thackeray stature, a leading Islamic cleric did not hesitate to praise the Shiv Sena supremo for carving out an unparalleled stature for himself.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday dismissed reports of his being on ventilator and blamed a leading Marathi newspaper for spreading the "falsehood". "I am not on a ventilator," Thackeray said.
"If any film is maligning the image of a mass leader, the supporters would agitate," Smita, estranged wife of Thackeray's son Jaidev wrote in a letter to Marathi newspaper Loksatta on Wednesday.
Bharatiya Janata Party's newly appointed national president Nitin Gadkari on Monday paid a courtesy visit to saffron ally, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray at latter's residence in Mumbai.
'The Congress cannot speak the BJP's words while targeting Kejriwal.' 'What is the difference between the two? Where is the unity of INDIA then?'
Politicians, actors and people from different sections of society landed up near Matoshree -- the residence of ailing Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray -- on Thursday.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who underwent an angioplasty at a suburban hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday, is stable and will be in the Intensive Care Unit till Thursday. Thackeray, 83, will be in the ICU for one more day and will be shifted on Thursday to a special room, where he will be under observation for two more days before he is discharged. Thackeray was admitted to the private hospital on Monday and underwent an angioplasty.
An alleged attack on a Marathi-speaking family by a government employee in Thane district sparked outrage in the Maharashtra Assembly, where the BJP-led government assured justice and condemned the incident. Opposition parties demanded immediate action against the accused, Akhilesh Shukla, and his wife, who have been arrested. The incident has raised concerns about discrimination against Marathi people and fueled tensions in the state.
The Maharashtra minister alleged that Muslim voters were convinced that Uddhav Thackeray had "forsaken" Hindutva ideologies and the ideals of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray which led to them coming together to help the Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT candidates.
Targeting All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said the Congress leader has no prospects of becoming prime minister of the country.
Chandrabhaga Shinde, one of the Shiv Sena's oldest supporters, made the journey to Matoshree, Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray's home in Kala Nagar, the artist's enclave in Bandra East, north west Mumbai, on Friday, June 24, 2022.
Stating that the Shiv Sena was ready to provide the best lawyers to defend Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, arrested in connection with the Malegaon blast, Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday ridiculed Congress Member of Parliament Gurudas Kamat, who has demanded his arrest for backing her. "Whenever Congressmen have feats of Muslim appeasement, they dream of my arrest," Thackeray said in an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana.
Deepak Kesarkar, a Sena MLA and spokesperson for the rebel faction headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, sought to know what Pawar gained by causing pain to Bal Thackeray.
In controversial remarks, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Wednesday advocated the creation of "Hindu suicide squads" to fight the scourge of "Islamic terrorism." The remarks immediately drew sharp condemnation from the ally BJP which said Thackeray must behave responsibly.
From drawing cartoons with potent messages to etching for himself a larger-than-life image on Maharashtra's political landscape, Bal Thackeray was the mascot of Marathi pride and Hindutva who aroused extreme emotions but could never be ignored.
The attack on the convoy of Shiv Sena-UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray in retaliation to a similar incident involving Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray revived the old rivalry between the estranged cousins who claim to champion the cause of Marathi manoos ahead of assembly elections.
The Sena executive also authorised Thackeray to take action against the rebels.
While the Shinde-led Shiv Sena will organise its event at NESCO ground in Goregaon in northwest Mumbai, the Shiv Sena-UBT will hold its event in Shanmukhanand Hall at Sion in central Mumbai.