The wheel seems to have turned full-circle for one of the Shiv Sena's original dissidents, Bhaskar Jadhav. After a bitter fallout with the leadership, especially then party working president Uddhav Thackeray in 2004, Jadhav rebelled against the Sena and later joined the NCP.
However, a decade-and-half is a long time in politics. On Friday, Jadhav, who cut his teeth as a Shiv Sainik in 1982, will rejoin his parent party. In 2004, Jadhav rebelled against the Sena after being denied a renomination from Chiplun in Ratnagiri in favour of then Uddhav loyalist and Mumbai corporator, Prabhakar Shinde.
Though he fought as an independent, Jadhav, who was seeking his third term in the assembly, lost by just over 5,000 votes to Ramesh Kadam (NCP). The next year, he joined the NCP.
Though Shiv Sena leaders like Narayan Rane and later, Raj Thackeray quit the party in 2005, posing the most potent existential challenge for the Sena, Jadhav was seen as one of the original dissidents of the party in that decade.
In 2009, Jadhav, then a NCP MLC, contested from the Guhagar constituency, and in a triangular contest, which caught the attention of the state, defeated then leader of opposition Ramdas Kadam of the Shiv Sena and the BJP's rebel legislator Dr Vinay Natu, who was denied a ticket in Kadam's favour. Jadhav later became a minister of state and the NCP's state unit president. He was re-elected from Guhagar in 2014.
However, the former truck driver, who is now called "Bhaskarseth," with a network of businesses including transport, is known to have nursed a special place in his mind for his former party, especially his ex-boss, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Jadhav would place advertisements in local newspapers on Thackeray's birthday. In an informal conversation, Jadhav had recalled how he had broken down while speaking to the Sena supremo on the phone weeks before his death.
Jadhav, who created a flutter by meeting Uddhav last month at the latter's residence of 'Matoshree' in Mumbai, confirmed that he would join the Shiv Sena. "That topic is over. These things dont remain in the mind for 15 years. Differences of opinion are gradually papered over," he added, when asked about his differences with Uddhav.
"I am not angry at the party or any leader," said Jadhav, who was said to be on uneasy terms with NCP MP from Raigad and former minister Sunil Tatkare, when asked about his decision to quit the NCP.
While Shiv Sena leaders like Rane and former union minister Anant Geete made their base in the Konkan after launching their political careers in Mumbai, Jadhav's long-time associate Faisal Kaskar said his leader was essentially a home-grown enterprise. "Then, Chiplun and Ratnagiri district had the presence of stalwarts like Govindrao Nikam and Nana Joshi who controlled institutions like co-operative bodies... he (Jadhav) created a network in common people using his skills and oratory," he explained.
