Govinda Ala Re.,’’ the familiar chorus on Gokul Asthami in various parts of the city will carry a strong political note on Saturday. Some groups of youngsters eager to form human pyramids to break the traditional Dahi Handi’to play Lord Krishna and his friends, would also be revealing their political affiliation by wearing T-shirts distributed by Narayan Rane to compete with their Shiv Sena counterparts.There are about 5,000 Govinda groups in the city and most of them comprise Shiv Sena workers. ‘‘It’s true that the festival has traditionally been a manifestation of Shiv Sena power in Mumbai. The festival represents the social side of Shiv Sena. The city will see the traditional enthusiasm this year too,’’ said Sena spokesperson Subhash Desai.These groups have been traditionally celebrating the festival by breaking the Dahi Handi, not only for the fun and the attention but also for the cash placed in the Handi or tied to the rope that keeps the pot suspended overhead. There are about 25 Dahi Handis in the city that have lucrative cash awards.After leaving Sena, Rane and his supporters have been organising meetings in the traditional Sena bastions to make their presence felt and woo Sainiks to join the Congress. As part of their strategy to win over the Sainiks, Rane and his supporters have distributed T-shirts with Rane’s sketch free among various Govinda groups.‘‘We have distributed around 1 lakh T-shirts among Govinda groups all over Mumbai, from Navi Mumbai to the island city. We are taking utmost care to make the festival look like our festival,’’ said Santosh Margaj, a Rane supporter who personally supervised the distribution of the T-shirts.Other publicity material is also being distributed freely. ‘‘I have distributed around 5,500 cut-outs of Rane in my constituency,’’ said Kalidas Kolamkar, Rane supporter and Shiv Sena legislator from Naigaon constituency.Desai, however, sought to underplay the Rane threat. ‘‘We don’t care about his plans. We are only going to ensure that the festival is celebrated just the way it is every year by the Shiv Sena boys,’’ Desai said.Not to be outdone by Rane, some Sena workers would wear T-shirts carrying the portrait of Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray.
