Bal Thackery Should Reorient Sena Ideology Instead of Blaming People for Debacle
Bal Thackery finally broke his silence on the outcome of the election results in Maharashtra, where the Sena and BJP parties got the drubbing of their life. He blamed the Maharastrians for the defeat. He claimed that he formed the Shiv Sena party for the welfare of the people and whose cause he espoused like sons of the soil policy and its animosity towards people from other states ruining the economy of Mumbai. Recently he blamed them and said they stabbed him in the back. It was nothing but a frustration and outpouring of a vanquished heart.
Drawing a parallel between the win of regional parties in Tamilnadu like Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi, the BJD Patnaik win in Orissa and Modi’s local pride in Gujarat all paid off but not in Maharashtra. He said that the Marathi people have not got wiser and their minds are dead.
“I have given vent to my feelings to relieve my anguish. I devoted 44 years of my life for you. I do not know what crime I have committed and where I have gone wrong. If the dead minds of Maharashtrians are not going to be resurrected, I should not subject myself to this agony,” the Sena patriarch added.
What Bal Thackery failed to understand is the changing mood of the electorate. They are tired of the hate politics. All are Indians and they must live in perfect harmony, respecting each others’ sentiments. If people from other states have settled in Mumbai or elsewhere in Maharashtra and the Marathi manoos have settled in other parts of the country. Any action against other people in Mumbai would have a spillover effect on their economic interest elsewhere in the country. That is why the people of Maharashtra have become wiser and shun the politics of hate.
This is the major gain of this election. They have become mature and wiser and hence rejected both the Shiv Sena and BJP as well. The marginal gain of MNS Raj Thackery in the elections should not be overdrawn, as it was an aberration born out of the infighting in the Shiv Sena camp. Raj has not gained any new vote bank but taken away a big slice from SS-BJP. There is nothing in the show of Raj Thackery. He has issued a notice to Sena rather than to anyone else that he is the sole spokesman of Marathi ‘Manoos’ and no longer Shiv Sena.
Like the BJP, Shiv Sena needs to do a lot of soul searching and introspection to reorient its policies to win back the people’s confidence. If people have rejected them in three consecutive terms, they must first realise that they are no longer important to people and that they lost the sheen they once enjoyed.
Perhaps both SS and BJP have taken the people for granted and thought the very name would bring votes. It was not to be. People want amity among all people and nothing but development is appreciated. Congress in all the three states have performed well, though below par in Haryana, banking purely on performance and leadership quality. Here Rahul Gandhi played a stellar role in identifying himself and his party with the sufferings of the people. His visits and stay with the Dalits in UP sent a strong message to all the people all over the country that here is a man who is a “Gandhi” reincarnation. Rahul also proved that it is youth that has moved the voters and not the oldies among the politicians, who never changed their attitude.
Bal Thackery and his son Uday have a task cut out for them as to how to counter check the growing popularity of Raj Thackery. Raj’s 13 seats in the first major poll is something phenomenal, though he won at the expense of his erstwhile party Shiv Sena. Where Uday failed, Raj succeeded. It would be a herculean task for both father and son to check mate estranged Raj Thackery. He has sounded a warning and after tasting success, Raj would strive to make more gains in the future. How Bal and Uday Thackery would react now is to be seen.
In the meantime, Congress has adopted a policy not to change the winning team. The decision to allow a second term both for Chavan in Maharashtra and Hooda in Haryana was welcomed as a politically mature decision. Congress’ resounding victory in as many elections have sent jitters through the opposition camp.
From now on, Congress would strive hard to maintain their winning combination like a good governance and performance combined with effective leadership. With naxalite problems in the states of AP, Jharkhand, UP, West Bengal, it is time for the governments, both states and central, to flex their muscles and talk tough with these elements.
This is the first time that the Maoists have talked about a war and those taken prisoners were prisoners of war as if a war is going on within the country. This is something unacceptable to Chidambaram. He must tell them that there would not be any talk with the them until they shun violence and abandon their armed struggle. This is a new challenge as the enemy from within is becoming stronger as the days pass.
In the end, to confront the Maoists, it is essential that their supply route and funding agencies be targeted. Break their backbone and confront them directly in jungles using modern warfare machinery as traditional hunting with ordinary rifles would not do as they are heavily armed with modern weapons. It is understood and acknowledged by Chidambaram himself that these Maoists have been getting their arms from across the border meaning Bangla Desh. Why not then cap the route? It is therefore incumbent on the people of the areas to join hands with the government to crush the naxalite movement once and for all. Jai Hind.
