Remarking that the Shiv Sena’s Hindutva was ‘clean’ and that the party never broke electoral promises, Maharashtra Minister and Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said that his Ayodhya visit was not political but a purely devotional one.
“This is not a political visit or a tour to secure electoral benefits, but a purely devotional one. We have come here to seek the blessings of Lord Ram. Enthusiastic Shiv Sainiks from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country have come to take the darshan of Ram Lalla,” said Mr. Thackeray, speaking to presspersons during his first solo visit to Ayodhya today.
Making a veiled jibe at the BJP, he said that the Shiv Sena’s Hindutva is ‘clean’ and that the party’s politics was simple.
“We have always kept our electoral promises, regardless of whether we won or lost elections,” Mr. Thackeray said.
Parrying questions of a political nature, Mr. Thackeray refuted suggestions that the massive presence of Shiv Sena workers along with their top leadership was a show of strength.
No show of strength
“There is no show of strength here as this is not a political event. For us [Shiv Sena], shakti (strength) and bhakti (devotion) is the same. Ayodhya is the centre of faith in India. In 2018, the Shiv Sena had given the slogan of pehle mandir, phir Sarkar (first temple, then government). After the Sena’s slogan, the way for the construction of the Ram temple was cleared and it is being built on the orders of the Supreme Court,” said Mr. Thackeray, tacitly implying his party’s contribution in the Temple movement and ‘Hindutva’ politics.
Mr. Thackeray further said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would be speaking with his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath to ask for a space in Ayodhya in order to build a ‘Maharashtra Sadan’ to provide accommodation for devotees visiting the holy city from Maharashtra.
An elaborate welcome ceremony was organized by Shiv Sena leaders for Aaditya Thackeray, who reached Ayodhya by road from Lucknow. Mr. Thackeray did the religious circuit of the holy city, first visiting the ISKON temple, then the Hanuman Garhi while participating in a maha aarti on the banks of River Sarayu, which saw the ghats festooned with saffron flags of the Shiv Sena.
Publicised visit
The Sena leader’s much-publicised visit to the Ram Temple is being viewed ‘a rite of passage’, with the Thackeray scion being projected as a new kind of leader for a renascent Shiv Sena.
His visit comes at a time when the Sena in Maharashtra being targeted by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), who have been taunting the Uddhav Thackeray-led party of having forsaken its ‘Hindutva’ credentials ever since its ideologically opposed alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress to form the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA) government in late 2019.
Given that Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s (Aaditya’s uncle) proposed Ayodhya tour on June 5 came a cropper following the vehement protests by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh, the youthful Sena leader is being projected as the true legatee of the Sena founded by Bal Thackeray.
Aaditya Thackeray’s Ayodhya tour is also being viewed as an attempt to deepen the Sena’s ties with the north Indian community ahead of the crucial Mumbai civic body poll (BMC), where the Sena is engaged in an existential battle with the BJP to retain control of the cash-rich municipal corporation.
“Given Maharashtra CM and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s limitations on travel owing to his health problems, Aaditya’s visit is being seen as an effort to project the Sena on the national stage. While the Ayodhya visit may not necessarily translate into votes, it is yet another effort to retain the party’s grip on ‘Hindutva’ while showcasing Aaditya as the leader for the future,” said political analyst Vivek Bhavsar.
