Both Sena factions vie for Shivaji Park venue for Dussehra rally, await BMC decision

“I filed two applications, the first on August 1 and the second on August 7,” Shinde-led Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar told The Indian Express, adding that “the civic body is yet to reply.”

Mahesh Sawant, the local zonal head of Sena UBT, who filed the application with BMC, said that he filed the application a month and a half ago but the civic body has not replied. “This is our traditional event, which we have been holding at Shivtirth (Shivaji Park ground) for many decades. We got permission to hold the rally last year, and as per rules, the party which gets permission one year, gets permission the next year too. We met the officials to remind them,”Sawant said.

BMC, which is the competent authority to grant permission for Shivaji Park, is yet to decide and is taking a legal opinion before granting permission. “We received applications from both sides, which we sent to the legal department. Once they give their legal opinion, BMC will take a decision,” Prashant Sapkale, the G North ward officer of BMC told The Indian Express.

The Dussehra rally has been one of the most important annual events for Sena 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, such as, the rally in 2020 was held virtually due to the pandemic, while in 2021, it was held at Shanmukhanand Hall, Kings Circle.

However, after the Sena split last year, both factions were at loggerheads over bagging the Shivaji Park venue for the Dussehra rally. Both factions had filed applications with BMC to get the permission to hold their rallies, but the civic body had rejected both applications. Sena UBT had then approached Bombay High Court over the rejection of their application, following which, the court quashed BMC’s order and allowed them to hold the event at Shivaji Park on October 5. Thereupon, Shinde-Sena held its Dussehra rally at MMRDA ground in BKC.

Last year when the two factions sought BMC permission for the event, the Election Commission Of India had not recognised Shinde faction as real Sena.