Why all this after 2.5 years? Shiv Sena workers ask Eknath Shinde camp

Hemal Ashar Ranjeet Jadhav Sameer Surve and Dipti SinghWith the wheels threatening to come off the lsquorickshawrsquo government a disparaging label given to the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA by its detractors local leaders Shiv Sena shakha pramukhs and hardcore Sainks are seething at what they think is a treacherous breakawayAs they vowed to side with the Thackeray family they had one question for the Shinde camp why all this after 25 years On Thursday Shiv Sena shakhas and offices of party leaders in the DahisarBorivali belt bore a deserted look except for heavy police presenceSandeep Chivate and Sujata SanapAbhishek Ghosalkar former corporator from Dahisar and son of Sena exlegislator Vinod Ghosalkar portended that one should not be misled by the onground calm He said ldquoThis is the lull before the storm We Shiv Sainiks work at a ground level with and for the people We are not scared of backstabbers and those who are trying to take over the Sena That will never happen We have and will always support the Thackeray family We were never greedy for powerrdquoAlso read Separate Shiv Sena group in Lok Sabha tooWatch outLocal Sena worker Bala Patil at Rawalpada Dahisar said ldquoWe are not going to make this a law lsquonrsquo order situation This is for unity and support for Uddhav Thackeray People of Maharashtra are with usrdquo Bhagwan Arekar aide and mobiliser for rebel MLA from Patan Shamburaj Desai said he has severed ties with his boss and stands by Uddhav ThackerayldquoWhat Shinde and these MLAs have done is wrongrdquo said Arekar adding Thackeray did a lot for Desai When the Hindutva question reared its head Arekar said ldquoI agree the Sena has moved away from its core Hindutva agenda but what were these people doing for 25 years Were they blind Did they not know this before Their real grouse is that they have been sidelined in favour of a select few close to the familyrdquoThe usually bustling Shiv Sena shakha no 198 at Lower Parel bore a sombre look on ThursdayHe did say though that the rapid rise of Aaditya was unfair ldquoUddhav Thackeray should have given him a smaller post and let him grow slowlyrdquo he explained But he reiterated there is no sympathy for the rebels Arekar said ldquoIt will still be good if they return quietlyrdquo He also said he thought the rebels did not have much of a future in the BJPPhilosophical stanceWhile Arekar struck a combative note Krishna Hegde exSena MLA and secretary of Bharatiya Kamgar Sena has seen rollercoaster politics ldquoEver since I was in the seventh standard since I was born into a political family I have campaigned for the Congress in the rsquo70s as a young man as a little boy I remember sticking political posters as elections neared with wheat as there was no gluerdquoContesting and winning college elections Hegde joined the Congress and then went to the BJP before finally joining the Sena nearly 15 years ago ldquoEven with so many years in politics I say what is unfolding currently is very unfortunate There was always room for dialoguerdquoShakha no 184 at Dadar PicsAshish RajeHegde said key takeaways from this crisis for him are philosophical ldquoIt has cemented my belief that in politics everybody retires hurt Even if you have had an illustrious career you may be hurt because your leadership your cadre may have let you down It is certainly not a bed of roses People have this notion that politicians are extremely thickskinned but that is not always true When things go well people treat you like a God you are a superhero when they do not you are accused of all sorts of things even those you have not donerdquoA shockerWednesdayrsquos flood of Matoshree visitors had dialled down somewhat on Thursday morning though some Sena leaders still showed up to meet Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray In the afternoon senior leader Dagdu Sakpal former Shiv Sena MP from Aurangabad Chandrakant Khaire were at Matoshree to meet the CMA group of Sena workers outside Matoshree were overheard discussing that it was difficult for them to digest the fact that no senior leader in MVA was aware of a massive rebellion that might have been brewing ldquoIt is shocking that so many MLAs reached Surat by road and the home department was not awarerdquo said a Sainik who did not want to be namedPervez Cooper from ColabaKilometres south from Matoshree in Colaba Pervez Cooper a Sena inductee for two years who describes himself as an ldquoordinary Shiv Sainikrdquo looked at the extraordinary goingson with a mix of pain and some pride ldquoThe pain is obvious and the pride is because of the dignified way in which Uddhav Thackeray made his exit from Varsha This is in contrast to so many politicians who simply want to stick to their chairs Even though backstabbed he is a man of principlerdquoSilence is golden said many Sena karyakartas in Thane deflecting questions with ldquowe are doing our routine workrdquo Former shakha pramukh Anand Sawant at Mulund E said ldquoWe are with Thackeray and Matoshree All karyakartas are with Uddhav Thackeray We were at Matoshree yesterdayrdquo Ram Tondwalkar echoed the sentiment ldquoShiv Sena is the party of the Thackerays and not that of othersrdquo While the Ghatkopar Shiv Sena shakha was yet to open when midday visited the place former corporator Tukaram Patil espoused similar supportFiery retortsSujata Sanap a former Sena corporator was fiery She said ldquoWhatever our senior leaders decide will be final However I do not buy explanations that are being trotted out that Uddhav Thackeray did not have the time to talk to people in the party or they felt insulted He managed COVID wonderfully making our state within the top 5 for COVID management He has treated all with respect he used to answer the media like family so how could he have ignored intraparty personsrdquo asked Sanap from SoBo The unfolding crisis has filled Pramod Sawant a Shiv Sainik with a mix of hope anger and sadnessldquoUddhav Thackeray gave Eknath Shinde everything so why has this happened We are so surprised False statements and reasons are being bandied about Shinde and Thackeray were close they could have talked about any problems I want to ask why did this scenario crop up only nowWe are awaiting answersrdquoAn emotional Sandeep Chivate Matunga shakha pramukh had some strong last words He began ldquoDo not do this to Uddhav Thackeray He is a decent dignified man I have been with the Sena for more than 30 years I still remember the slogan given by Balasaheb Thackeray then which resonated across Matunga lsquohatao lungi bajao pungirsquordquoTalking about Hindutva he said ldquoWhen Babri Masjid fell it was not the BJP but Balasaheb who said lsquoeven if one of my karyakartas has participated in this I am proudrsquo We also had the slogan lsquogarv se kaho hum Hindu hairsquo The BJP will use and eventually discard the rebel MLAs and others Shiv Sena is an absolute institution it has withstood many seismic tremors and shocks It will come out strongerrdquo