Generation shift: Sena for elders,MNS for youth

Rumblings of this generational change is evident in families like the Sawants,spread across the erstwhile textile mill areas of Girangaon,which gave the Shiv Sena its first major political opening by electing its first MLA Wamanrao Mahadik in 1971.

While parents,who believe in the Shiv Sena chief,stand by the saffron party,the young MNS cadre sees Raj as the natural successor of Bal Thackeray.

Sitting in his tenement at Lalbag,Sachin Shivram Sawant (30) and his brother Sanjay (28) swear by Raj saheb. “The Shiv Sena is not inferior. But it is Raj saheb who can give justice to the sons of the soil,” said Sachin. His mother Sumitra (54),who remembers Bal Thackeray’s speeches and her late husband Shivram’s support for the Sena,is still a staunch Shiv Sena sympathiser. However,she too admits that Raj is getting strong.

Byculla resident and MNS functionary Vikrant (Gotya) Khadpe,whose father Dineshchandra (61) has been a Shiv Sena supporter since its inception and is still loyal to Bal Thackeray,admitted that the aggressive MNS posturing was indeed luring the youth.

Apart from hope among Maharashtrian youth in the wake of Raj’s demand for priority to locals in jobs,a section of youngsters in Mumbai also seem to be swayed by the MNS opposition to North Indians who compete with them in the unorganised sector. Many in the Shiv Sena too feel their movement extends only up to a point.

Moreover,young supporters of the MNS and the Shiv Sena point to Sena leaders,who are said to have significant stakes in the new constructions coming up in the mill areas,which house “outsiders” and may eventually change the demographic profile of this Maharashtrian-dominated working class area.

Raj’s successful posturing against Jet Airways sacking its staff and his arrest for “speaking in favor of Maharashtrians,” has added followers,though MNS cadre admit that the vote being split between the Sena and MNS would eventually hurt the Maharashtrians.

“Today,the youth have no jobs. The locals get no priority in employment. Let us see what happens if Raj comes to power,” said an MNS worker Bhaskar Naik,a resident of Kalachowkie,whose brother Govind is still a Shiv Sena adherent.

“As long as Balasaheb is there,I will not betray the party,” said a staunch Sainik from Lalbag,who works in a neighboring state,and had come to the city to vote. “Only Raj can show his impact as a leader,” he added.