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Cub versus Tiger

For long years, Raj Thackeray was the presumptive heir to the Shiv Sena throne. Bal Thackeray's nephew lived and breathed the Sena's street politics in a way his less demonstrative and more sophisticated son never could. Yet it speaks to the illogic of dynastic politics that Raj has quit the Sena protesting discrimination while Uddhav has all but taken over the party with the supremo professing no further interest in playing an active role. Just how this happened is a fascinating story of power, ambition, and nepotism. Indira Gandhi's chosen heir was younger son Sanjay but that `extra-constitutional' phase proved short-lived. In 1984, the Congress scored the highest ever tally of Lok Sabha seats under Rajiv Gandhi. The Sena of course is in a class by itself, a cult-like affair run by an authoritarian figure who never fought an election, who to this day pooh-poohs the idea of internal democracy. Balasaheb holds the dubious distinction of being the only party chief to have been disenfranchised for six years. It is ironic that Raj should feign anger and astonishment at being overlooked in favour of the patriarch's son. The nephew was the tiger cub, the quintessential sainik, ruthless to enemies, ready to do battle and charged with the same Sena vision of a Hindu Rashtra.

Raj imitated the supremo's walk, talk and manner, called him "God," and dedicated a hagiographic picture-studded biography to him. The nephew was in the vanguard of Sena's destructive politics, from launching a violent agitation against `outsiders' through digging up the Wankhede Stadium pitch (in protest against the visit of the Pakistani cricket team) to supporting the post-Ayodhya violence. With Balasaheb adding fuel to fire through his inflammatory columns in Saamna, uncle and nephew made a formidable team. Nobody, not even the Chief Minister, dared disobey `Matoshree' from where all power flowed. Yet for all the nephew's claims that the patriarch's blood "flows in my veins," the filial bond has proved much stronger. The last straw appears to have been Balasaheb's announcement that henceforth he would take a backseat to Uddhav. Raj exits a party that is in the throes of a crisis brought about by ideological confusion and desertion. When in 1992, Chhagan Bhujbal quit the Sena with 18 MLAs, the party bounced back. Raj's departure is a body blow, coming on top of the exit of Sanjay Nirupam and Narayan Rane. Mr. Rane recently triumphed handsomely from the Sena bastion of Konkan. The choice before Raj is to go his separate way or tilt towards the Congress. Should the latter happen, the Congress, which has taken on board Mr. Nirupam and Mr. Rane (not to mention Mr. Bhujbal in the Nationalist Congress Party), will be in serious danger of looking and sounding like the Sena. Perhaps more so considering Uddhav's moderate pretensions.

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