Family feuds proving to be Shiv Sena’s Achilles’ heel

Family feuds at regular intervals have not only brought a bad name for Maharashtra’s political first family, the Thackerays, they have also become a reason for their political party, the Shiv Sena’s decline over the years, believe political observers.

First it was Bal Thackeray’s second son Jaidev, then it was his nephew Raj, and now it is daughter-in-law Smita. They have all raised the flag of revolt against the party, and especially against Thackeray’s chosen political heir Uddhav. Observers believe that the revolt by Jaidev and Smita — who were husband and wife till 1999 — has brought humiliation for the Thackerays, while Raj’s rebellion was a severe setback for the Sena.
It’s been a long time since Jaidev cut off all relations with Bal Thackeray. A source said that Uddhav had even opposed the mention of Jaidev as a resident of their family home ‘Matoshree’ in the voters’ list (Jaidev does not stay with his father).

A few years ago Jaidev was all set to join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar. But Pawar himself denied him entry because he did not want to hurt his close friend, Bal Thackeray.

Raj had always harboured ambitions of running the Shiv Sena. But after Thackeray anointed Uddhav as his political heir, Raj could not deal with him as he “cannot work under anybody.” 

Raj then launched his own political outfit, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and hijacked the Sena’s pet agenda of Marathi pride. MNS was one of the major reasons for the Sena’s poor showing (44 seats) in the recent assembly elections, its worst in the last 20 years.

Smita has expressed a desire to join the Congress because she is attracted by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi’s ideologies and style of working. “My mom respects Aja (Balasaheb) a lot. But she has no scope for social work in the Shiv Sena,” Smita’s elder son Rahul said.
Thackeray had allowed Smita to continue staying in ‘Matoshree’ despite her divorce from his son Jaidev. Interestingly, in an interview she had said, “What is in the name Smita Chitre? But with the addition of the name ‘Thackeray’, my life changed completely. A father-in-law like Balasaheb and his surname has proved quite ‘beneficial’ to me. Otherwise who would have listened to me?”

A Sena leader claimed that Smita’s defection will not affect the party. “Smita does not have any followers in the party. It is true that she was quite influential when we were in power during 1995-99. She was still married to Jaidev at that time. She parted ways with him after we lost the election in 1999. Since then she has not been active in politics,” he said.

Smita’s recent appearance on the Sena platform was in April 2008. She had participated in the ghanta naad andolan (ringing bell agitation) held under Uddhav’s leadership in front of Siddhivinayak temple to demand loan waivers for farmers. 

“It was an attempt to get candidature for the Rajya Sabha elections of May 2008. But she didn’t get it,” the Sena leader said. DNA in May 2008 had first reported that Smita was upset with the party after being denied a Rajya Sabha berth.

Uddhav, however, is unmoved by Smita’s plans to join the Congress. “I am not going to say anything on the issue. I will continue doing my work,” he said. “Let her announce a decision, whatever it is, after that I will speak.”