Sorrow and grief descended on the Shiv Sena followers on Saturday afternoon on Bal Thackeray's demise
The Sena, weakened after Raj Thackeray broke away floated his own party, is optimistic that it will win the prestigious and the most cash rich corporation in the country.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray alleges the state government's three-language formula is a precursor to separating Mumbai from Maharashtra, speaking at a rally with Uddhav Thackeray.
The ashes of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray were on Thursday immersed in the holy Sangam in Allahabad. Thackeray's ashes were brought to the city by Shiv Sena leaders from Maharashtra, who were joined by the party's local unit members.
Against the backdrop of some strains between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the general elections, Sena supremo Bal Thackeray today refused to meet the saffron party's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani who was in Mumbai in connection with a party function.
The cricketer had said that the Sena chief is not against Muslims and lamented that certain vested interests were bent upon tarnishing his image by describing him as 'anti-Muslim'.
Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray wanted to transfer of a defamation case filed against him.
Slamming the Centre for 'not making any serious attempt' to stop racist attacks on Indians in Australia, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday warned against allowing cricketers from that country to play in the third season of IPL beginning in March. "Our warning to the government is still there. We will not allow Australian cricketers to play here in the wake of racist attacks on Indians down under," Thackeray said.
The foundation day function of the Shiv Sena, which completes 43 years on Friday, has been called off apparently due to hospitalisation of its chief Bal Thackeray, party sources said.
"It is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit," Tharoor said.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, in limelight for 'hijacking' Shiv Sena's 'Marathi pride' agenda, today met his uncle and Sena chief Bal Thackeray, their first meeting since he left the Sena and launched MNS in 2006.
Slamming Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani for predicting a non-BJP, non-Congress prime minister in 2014, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday said it is like a general saying before a war that there is no guarantee on the outcome and "demoralising" the entire army.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday spoke in support of the attack on Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan by right-wing activists for his Kashmir remark.
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.
Maharashtra BJP chief and former deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde asked reporters not to read too much into Thackeray's absence at Tuesday night's Sena-BJP dinner meeting.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray was on Wednesday discharged from Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra, eight days after he was hospitalised.
BJP leaders in Maharashtra criticized Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's joint rally in Mumbai, calling it a desperate attempt to revive their political fortunes ahead of civic polls. They accused the Thackerays of using the Marathi language issue as a guise to regain power and criticized their past actions.
Irked over Shiv Sena's tirade against him over his remarks on north Indians, Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday dared the Thackerays to move around without any security cover.
'Many people are in awe of the power wielded by Thackeray. I found that even R K Laxman shared this feeling though both he and Thackeray began as cartoonists in the 1940s. "See how far ahead Thackeray has gone. And here I am," he told me one day in a sad tone,' recalls Vidyadhar Date who assesses Balasaheb Thackeray's political legacy.
Personalities across the political spectrum and social sphere on Saturday condoled the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman (PCB) Zaka Ashraf on Thursday wished a speedy recovery for ailing Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray sending a 'get well soon' message to the veteran politician.
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 former Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the "bow and arrow" symbol became famous due to the tireless work of Bal Thackeray.
A day after Shiv Sena chief was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, his estranged nephew paid a visit to the hospital along wth his wife.
Appearing unruffled over the flak his attack on Jnanpith awardee Kannada writer Chandrashekara Kambara has drawn in neighbouring Karnataka, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Wednesday warned of a "backlash" in Maharashtra. "Those ruling Karnataka should check the goondas indulging in anti-Marathi activities. Don't let them spark a fire here," Thackeray said. "The Karnataka government should stop police protection to the goondas attacking Marathi," he said.
As the stand-off between Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra government continues ahead of Friday's release of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'My Name is Khan', the Sena on Thursday claimed the state government prevented a meeting between party chief Bal Thackeray and the actor.
Union Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday asked people not to attach much importance to what the Thackerays say and accused the family members of fighting among themselves to strengthen their political base in Maharashtra. "Don't attach much importance to what they say. It is their family problem, to strengthen their (respective) political base," the former Maharashtra chief minister said.
Thursday morning didn't wake up the 'city that never sleeps' as shops largely remained closed with news of ailing Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's critical health condition spreading around.
The Thackerays came to Mumbai two generations ago for jobs and as such have no right to assault those coming to the financial capital in search of livelihood. This claim has been made in an article published in this month's issue of Nationalist Congress Party's mouthpiece Rashtravadi, whose chief Sharad Pawar is an old friend of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.
Divergent statements emerged on Monday from Shiv Sena over shifting of the makeshift memorial which has come up at the spot at Shivaji Park where party chief Bal Thackeray was cremated a month ago.
Under pressure from the government, Shiv Sena on Thursday indicated its willingness to shift Bal Thackeray's memorial to the margins of Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
He further said, "The then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's announcement of giving autonomous status to Kashmir and making Sheikh Abdullah its prime minister was opposed by the entire country and all the MPs, prompting him to rescind the move."
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's response has been sought by the Lok Sabha secretariat in the wake of a breach of privilege notice against him following an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana targeting some MPs from Bihar. The response of Thackeray as also Sanjay Raut, Rajya Sabha member, who is the executive editor of the newspaper, has been sought.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Saturday urged leaders of Maharashtra and the 'Bihar lobby' in the media to learn lessons from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and not compromise when it comes to protecting the 'dignity of Maharashtra' before the world.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Friday signalled his formal withdrawal from active role in the party that he founded and built over four decades.
Discussions are on at Matoshree, Thackeray's residence in Mumbai.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, admitted to hospital three days ago, was today shifted out of ICU and was likely to be discharged in the next couple of days.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who had criticised senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani for his controversial blog, on Saturday supported him on the 'illegitimate' United Progressive Alliance government comment.
