Mumbai is witnessing a political double-header of saffron flags on Tuesday as the two rival Shiv Senas hold separate Dussehra rallies across the city on Vijayadashami, each claiming the legacy of founder Bal Thackeray on the 60th anniversary of the Sena’s first Shivaji Park melava.
Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) gathers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park in Dadar from 6 pm, the ground where Bal Thackeray addressed his first Dussehra rally six decades ago. Across town in Goregaon, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena holds its parallel gathering at the NESCO Centre from 5 pm, setting the stage for an evening of sharp political attacks and counter-attacks.
Two venues, one legacy
The Dussehra melava has been the cornerstone of Maharashtrian politics ever since Bal Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena in 1966. What was once a single address from one stage has, since the historic split in the party, become a ritual held twice every Vijayadashami, with each faction using the day to prove it is the true inheritor of Balasaheb’s legacy.
This year’s rallies carry extra weight. The Uddhav faction has released a series of teasers on social media to rally its cadres. For party workers, the evening is a test of organisational strength and the political roadmap ahead.
What each camp is expected to say
At the NESCO Centre, Eknath Shinde is expected to counter criticism from the Thackeray faction while highlighting the achievements of the Mahayuti government. In a notable move ahead of the rally, he urged party workers to visit the homes of drought victims and tie auspicious torans of aid rather than travel to Mumbai for the gathering, a pitch that ties his Dussehra message to relief work in parched regions of the state.
At Shivaji Park, Uddhav Thackeray is likely to train his guns on both the state and central governments. Party insiders expect him to raise issues including the BJP’s politics, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, alleged irregularities in voter lists, the law and order situation in the state following the firing incident involving actor Tiger Shroff, and police action against protesting students.
The drought backdrop
Maharashtra is reeling under severe drought, and the agrarian distress is expected to echo through both speeches in different ways. Shinde has framed his rally around relief work and asked his workers to fan out to affected villages, while the Uddhav camp is likely to attack the government’s handling of farmer distress and question the delivery of relief on the ground.
Sixty years of the melava
The anniversary gives this year’s twin rallies a historic frame. On October 30, 1966, Bal Thackeray, then best known as a cartoonist and editor of the Marathi weekly Marmik, held the Shiv Sena’s first public meeting at Shivaji Park. The party was just four months old, an untested organisation built around his campaign for the rights of Marathi-speaking people in Bombay.
Senior leaders who were present recall a ground brimming with a crowd that surprised even the organisers, with volunteers from local gymnasiums managing the gathering and a steel tiffin box passed around for donations. That meeting laid the foundation for a political ritual that, sixty years on, still draws thousands to Mumbai every Dussehra, now in two competing editions.
What is at stake
Beyond the symbolism, the rallies are a live measure of each faction’s hold over the Shiv Sainik base. Turnout at Shivaji Park versus NESCO will be read closely by political observers, as will the tone and content of the two leaders’ speeches. With important local body contests on the horizon in Maharashtra, the Dussehra melava doubles as an early show of strength for battles to come.
- Uddhav Thackeray (UBT): Shivaji Park, Dadar, from 6 pm; expected to attack the government on SIR, voter lists, and law and order.
- Eknath Shinde: NESCO Centre, Goregaon, from 5 pm; expected to spotlight Mahayuti government achievements and drought relief.
- The legacy question: both factions claim to be the true heir of Bal Thackeray’s 1966 movement.
- The backdrop: severe drought across Maharashtra and a charged political atmosphere in Mumbai.
FAQs
Why are there two Shiv Sena Dussehra rallies this year?
Since the split in the Shiv Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena have held separate Dussehra melavas, each claiming the legacy of founder Bal Thackeray.
Where are the rallies being held?
Uddhav Thackeray’s rally is at Shivaji Park in Dadar, while Eknath Shinde’s rally is at the NESCO Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai.
What time do the rallies start?
Eknath Shinde’s gathering at NESCO begins at 5 pm, and Uddhav Thackeray’s address at Shivaji Park starts at 6 pm on Tuesday.
Why is this year’s rally special?
It marks 60 years since Bal Thackeray’s first Shiv Sena rally at Shivaji Park on October 30, 1966.
What issues are expected to dominate the speeches?
Drought relief, the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, alleged voter-list irregularities, and the state’s law and order situation are expected to feature prominently.
As the sun sets over Mumbai on Vijayadashami, two stages will light up and two leaders will claim one legacy. The crowds will decide, as they have for sixty years, which voice carries the night.
