Dussehra rally: After Shivaji Park, both Sena factions now vying for BKC ground

Interestingly, the MMRDA falls under the Urban Development department which is led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Both the factions are already awaiting BMC nod for holding their rally at Shivaji Park ground, a decision to be taken by the civic body chief, which as per the senior BMC official is not taken yet.

The Thackeray camp, which had applied for Shivaji Park ground first, has said they would move court if the BMC decision is not in their favour. “We will surely approach court if we do not get the permission from BMC for Shivaji Park given that we applied first and we have been holding the [Dussehra] rally at Shivaji Park for many years now,” said a senior leader from the faction.

The Dussehra rally has been one of the most important annual events for the Sena as a political party since it was founded in 1966 and the Shivaji Park ground or Shivtirth, as the party calls it, has been its traditional venue all these years, with a few exceptions – in 2020, the rally was organised virtually because of the pandemic while in 2021, it was held at the Shanmukhanand  hall in Kings Circle.

This year, due to the split in the party caused by the rebellion of Shinde and 39 other MLAs leading to a consequent collapse of the MVA government, there are two ‘Sena’ claimants for Shivaji Park.

The BMC received the first application from the  Thackeray camp for the ground on August 22. While the Thackeray faction awaited BMC approval, the rival camp, which claims to be the original Shiv Sena, also started planning its Dussehra rally at the same ground. Earlier this month, Shinde faction MLA Sada Sarvankar applied for the venue.

Thackeray has insisted that his party would hold their Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park as before, and his son and former minister Aaditya Thackeray has alleged their application has been facing hurdles from authorities. During a press conference, Thackeray had said, “Let there be no confusion on who will hold the rally [at Shivaji Park] on Dussehra. It will be us, it will be Shiv Sena. A Dussehra rally will be held and it will be held at Shivaji Park.”

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The rival faction held a meeting on the issue on Tuesday where Shinde has reportedly told the leaders that they will get the necessary permission to hold the rally at Shivaji Park.

Meanwhile,  one of Thackeray-led Sena leaders has warned that Shiv Sainiks will dig up Shivaji Park ground if the Shinde group tries to hold a rally there by misusing their power.