Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Thackeray cousins yet to get approval for historic Shivaji Park to hold closing election rally

Mumbai: The warring Thackeray cousins - Uddhav and Raj - have both applied for the historic Shivaji Park in Mumbai for their closing election rallies on Sunday, and are yet to receive any response from the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

According to the model code of conduct, campaigning ends at 5:00 pm on November 18 (Monday) for the November 20 (Wednesday) elections.

On Thursday evening, the BJP-led Maha Yuti held its mega-rally, which among others was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is now the leader of Shiv Sena, and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Uddhav’s Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and Raj’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have both asked for an evening slot on November 17.

Uddhav’s son Aaditya is seeking re-election from the Worli seat, while Raj’s son Amit is making debut from the Mahim seat.

Incidentally, the Shivaji Park falls under the Mahim Assembly constituency.

Besides being a venue for gatherings of freedom fighters in British India, after independence in 1947, the Shivaji Park was also the focal point of the Samyukta Maharashtra Chalval (movement) that led to the present Maharashtra state being formed in 1960.

Several top leaders of political parties have addressed rallies and meetings from here.

The inner circumference of the park is 1.17 kilometres, 1,12,937 square metres in area.

The Mayor's Bungalow is just opposite the Shivaji Park - where a memorial dedicated to Balasaheb Thackeray is coming up.

On June 19, 1966, the late cartoonist and politician Balasaheb Thackeray founded Shiv Sena for the larger cause of welfare and interests of the Marathi manoos.

On October 23, 1966, Marmik, a cartoon-centric magazine edited by Balasaheb, published a note announcing a rally at Shivaji Park at 5:30 pm on October 30 to observe Dussehra – a Hindus festival to celebrate the victory of good over evil, which is also known as Vijaya Dashami.

As announced, the rally was held at Shivaji Park - which the Shiv Sainiks call ‘Shivtirth’ - and Balasaheb, an orator-par-excellence, addressed it.

The Shivaji Park is also very important for the Hindutva movement - where Balasaheb took up the cause of Hindus and the Ram temple.

Since then, the Dussehra rally is one of the most important events for the Shiv Sainiks - where they come to hear Balasaheb and now his son Uddhav Thackeray.

It’s an unbroken record for Balasaheb except for two occasions – in 2006 when because of heavy rains and slush, the rally was not possible and in 2009 due to Vidhan Sabha polls.

A day after Balasaheb died on November 17, 2012, his last rites were performed at Shivaji Park.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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