Thackeray vs Thackeray

More than a year after the succession, the tussle continues. In early 2003, Bal Thackeray signalled the anointment of his son, Uddhav, as his rightful heir by presiding over his ascent to the post of working president in the Shiv Sena. In that appointment the dynastic principle was seen to be suitably underlined. The so far low-profile Uddhav had been chosen above his more flamboyant and politically active cousin, Raj. The nature of succession was left sufficiently ambiguous. Some saw Uddhav as chief minister whenever the electoral sweepstakes delivered the Shiv Sena to power in Maharashtra. Others saw it as the announcement of the party8217;s next patriarch. Most saw it as a combination of the two. It has taken a while coming, but this week Raj Thackeray finally threw his hat into the ring and said he was enticed by the thought of being chief minister.

In the Shiv Sena8217;s politics of the personality cult, this gentle suggestion is as close as it gets to a rebellion. And Thackeray Senior8217;s prompt response that 8220;people8217;s choice8221; will prevail is indicative of the uneasy co-existence of charismatic politics and intra-party democracy. The growth of the Sena has had much to do with Thackeray8217;s personality. Even when his nominees officiated as chief ministers, he remained the embodiment of the Sena. But after him? The absence of democratic norms to structure the party hierarchy makes succession an arbitrary and possibly fractious affair. It highlights the limits of personality-driven political parties. In fact, this has been the case with many parties. The Telugu Desam, the many offshoots of the Janata Dal, the DMK, the AIADMK, the BSP 8212; each has had to negotiate tensions on this account. The annexation of dynasty only makes the problem more acute for the Sena.

For all one knows, the identity of the Shiv Sena8217;s chief ministerial candidate may remain totally academic. But in the manner in which it handles the question of succession 8212; the extent to which, for instance, family ties and Bal Thackeray8217;s gestures are leveraged in any possible contest 8212; will test these protestations about the 8220;people8217;s choice8221;.