Vile Parle veteran, Colaba greenhorn; Shiv Sena foray evokes surprise and salute

Two recent political appointments both people joining the Shiv Sena have raised eyebrows Some are surprised many amused and some others skeptical Though both say that the overarching sentiment has been complimentary Krishna Hegde former MLA from Vile Parle and BJP vicepresident Mumbai unit jumped political ship to the Sena on February 5 Hegde was earlier with the Congress so in a way he has come back to the fold given that Sena and Congress are allies in the state governmentKrishna Hegde joins the Shiv SenaPolitical familyHegde said ldquoI was extremely impressed with the way Uddhav Thackeray handled the Coronavirus pandemic in the state With Maharashtra as a magnet for outsiders it has certainly not been an easy state and he has led with dignityrdquoHegde was with the Congress since the early 1980s and his father was with the party for 40 years ldquoI remember campaigning in open jeeps making election cards flyers we were a Congress familyrdquo In 2017 Hegde had joined the BJP ldquoI do not think the public is skeptical or can accuse every politician of putting opportunity before ideologyrdquo he said in response to a question ldquoI never asked for any post in the Sena I have joined as an ordinary Shiv Sainik A few cynical people aside I have amassed so many likes and congratulations on Facebook and TwitterrdquoWhen asked about the common manrsquos perception of largescale amusement tinged with some disgust at the fact that one day a politician badmouths a particular party and the next day he joins it Hegde responded ldquoI have never badmouthed any party I did not do so when I left the Congress I also do not want to say anything against the BJP I joined the party so I have to blame myself if it was a mistake My work speaks and Parlekars have seen my grassroots contribution and involvement in every bigticket project in the suburbsrdquoThe debutThe Shiv Sena recently also got a South Mumbai Parsi face Colabarsquos Pervez Cooper 61 an activist who earned the epithet of Super Cooper in SoBo because he took up Colabaspecific problems joined the Shiv Sena on February 6 Cooper said ldquoThrough my work in Colaba I realised that Shiv Sainiks were the most accessible of all political representatives and I decided to join the party I realised that you need to be with an organisation or party to make a difference and I took the plunge after much deliberation and consultation with my familyrdquoWhen asked if the Sena was perceived in a certain way by the Parsi community Cooper brushed it aside and stressed ldquoI want to take up communityspecific issues and also induct at least 50 Parsis into the party which will help in breaking stereotypes I have been inspired by the late Balasaheb ThackerayrdquoUnlike Hegde a dyedinthewool politician Cooper is a firsttimer When told that so many wellmeaning citizens have joined politics wanting to make a difference but dropped out rapidly unable to take the heat and dust of it Cooper said ldquoI am here for the long haul I am also a loyalist so I intend to stick with the party I am my own person never mind what the skeptics think I worked on so many problems ndash hawkers parking and toilets in the area as an ordinary person Now I want to bring change as a Shiv Sainikrdquo