Maharashtra: A second Sena Bhavan rises in Sambhajinagar

The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray will soon inaugurate its second Sena Bhavanmdashat Aurangpura in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar formerly known as Aurangabad Its rival faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde however said the new headquarters would not revive the partyrsquos fortunes in the regionThe sprawling fivestorey structure has been built on the lines of the Shiv Senarsquos iconic Dadar building It is likely to be inaugurated any time in the next two months between or during Navratri and DiwaliThe Sena Bhavan at Aurangpura in Chhatrapati SambhajinagarChandrakant Khaire the former Sena UBT MP from the region confirmed the development The veteran Sena leader mentioned that the plan to set up a Sena Bhavan in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was discussed in 2000 with the late party founder Bal ThackeraylsquoBalasaheb had approved planrsquoHe added ldquoBalasaheb had given the goahead to the plan and instructed us to get in touch with renowned architect Shashi PrabhurdquoKhaire stated that after receiving approval from Matoshree the process to identify land was done and accordingly a fivestorey structure was built ldquoThe building was completed around 10 years back But there were some technical issues related to approvals and permissions that took time to get resolved However now all issues have been sorted and the structure is ready for userdquo the former Sena MP addedShiv Sena party workers pass Sena Bhavan while heading to Shivaji Park for the partyrsquos annual Dussehra rally on October 5 2022 PicAshish RajeChhatrapati Sambhajinagar has been a Shiv Sena bastion for decades and the thenunited party emerged victorious in the district in the 2019 Assembly elections with six of its MLAs coming to power However after the 2022 split in the party following Shindersquos rebellion five MLAs shifted loyalties towards the CMrsquos camp and only one remained with ThackerayMLA Sanjay Shirshat who belongs to the Shinde faction told midday ldquoIt the new headquarters is a leased property We are not staking a claim on any of the Sena BhavansrdquoAsked whether the opening of a second Sena Bhavan would make any difference in the region or whether it would allow the Thackeray camp to spread its wings and regain control of the region Shirshat said ldquoIt hardly matters for themrdquoIn 2022 after Shinde raised the banner of rebellion Thackeray the thenchief minister made an emotional appeal to party leaders to prevent a split in the organisation However Shinde in return exhibited a letter written by Shirshat who mentioned that the party chief was inaccessible to MLAs and leaderslsquoDoesnrsquot make a differencersquoReiterating this Shirshat said ldquoOne reason for the split in Shiv Sena was Thackeray cutting off access to party leaders and MLAs Even now all meetings are conducted at Matoshree The Thackeray clan and Sena UBT leaders hardly visit Sena Bhavan in Dadar For any party to grow leaders need to be accessible and available at the party office But thatrsquos not happening Hence opening another headquarters will not make any difference or help the camp improve its positionrdquoNew headquartersThe plot on which the second party headquarters has been constructed belongs to the Shivai Seva Trust The Shiv Sena was born in 1966 and its first headquarters was built in the heart of Mumbai in 1974 The Dadar office is owned by the Shivai Seva Trust Senior Sena UBT leaders Subhash Desai and Leeladhar Dake are trustees of the organisationAccording to Sena leaders the third floor of the building will be used for party meetings while the fourth will house offices of party leadersInitially after the split in the united Shiv Sena in June last year there was buzz in the corridors of power that the Eknath Shindeled faction after being granted the original party name and bowandarrow symbol would stake a claim on Sena Bhavan too However these reports were discarded by a section of the Shinde camp on the grounds that there were no such plans or intentions1966Year Shiv Sena was founded