Crisis manager, back-channel operator, election strategist — Milind Narvekar’s roles in Sena unlikely to change after elevation

Sources close to Narvekar say he is entirely self-taught in politics. Having studied only till Class XI, he was attracted to the Shiv Sena as a suburban youngster in Mumbai of the mid-Eighties, a time when the Sena was growing sharply alongside a churn in middle-class Marathi homes. Having started working for the Sena, then still a party of street-fighters, he became ‘gat pramukh’ or area coordinator in the Liberty Garden area of Malad, in north-west Mumbai. A contemporary of his in the Sena says, “He didn’t have any serious political ambitions, but having served almost nine years as gat pramukh, he went to Sena Bhavan to be interviewed as a prospective shakha pramukh in 1994, and his life changed.” Uddhav asked him to join as his personal secretary, and suddenly, a man with no political background in his family was pitchforked into the rough and tumble of state politics.

Since 1994, he has been the single-point contact person for party activists and leaders seeking an audience with Thackeray. Narvekar also manages all of Thackeray’s travel plans, micro-managing everything from glitch-free chopper rides to pit-stops on long road journeys.

Narvekar did not want to speak about the elevation, he said. “Whatever best I can do for Uddhavji and Aadityaji, I will continue to do,” was all he would say. Interestingly, party functionaries have also been told that Narvekar’s job profile does not change after Tuesday’s assignment; he will continue to be Thackeray’s personal assistant.

He is known to be a networker, including with the corporate world, and he also maintains good equations with senior leaders from various parties including the BJP, Congress and NCP,” says one leader. Now known in the Sena as the shadow of Uddhav Thackeray, Narvekar is also seen as a major power centre in the party, approached by ticket-seekers, politicians including of the Sena of all levels of seniority who are trying to reach Uddhav, businessmen, associations of traders and just about anybody seeking to get a foot in the door of Matoshree, the Bandra home of the Thackerays. That kind of daily hobnobbing with other power-brokers makes Narvekar also a figure who attracts envy and mistrust. Those who left the party, including Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray too, have named Narvekar as one of the reasons for a rift between them and the party leadership. Within the party too, his closeness to Matoshree has been a subject of angst. In fact, Sena leaders unanimously agree that one of the reasons to give Narvekar a formal post was to quell opposition to his participation at inner circle meetings and decision-making, a clear signal from Uddhav Thackeray about his loyal assistant.

A very senior Sena leader says Narvekar’s biggest asset is possibly his role as a back-room operator — many believe he can woo corporators or legislators from other parties at opportune moments. In fact, he is credited with playing a central role in foiling Narayan Rane’s attempt to split the Sena by taking around 40 legislators with him in 2005 when he joined the Congress. “It was the biggest crisis the Sena has faced so far. Rane’s plan was obviously to finish off the Sena. From sequestering the Sena MLAs after a meeting at the MIG Club to planning their transportation to Le Meridien Hotel, making arrangements for their belongings to be brought to them, Narvekar worked the phones and his connections overtime,” the leader says.

Member of Parliament and senior Sena leader Gajanan Kirtikar says Narvekar was an ideal candidate for elevation. “As PA to Uddhavji, Milind has been doing a lot of work of a secretary, and now he been formally appointed party secretary. He will continue to do the work he has been doing now,” Kirtikar told The Indian Express.

The plain-speaking, shrewd Narvekar has been known to say he has no ambitions for posts or privileges beyond what his job already entails, but with the Sena’s job cut out ahead of general and assembly elections scheduled for 2019, Narvekar’s special skills to network with politicians across party lines would be on call to raise the Shiv Sena’s tally.