What is the Shiv Sena?
Mumbai is the unofficial financial and entertainment capital of India. This attracts talented people from all over India to the city to work there. A man named Balasaheb Thackeray became angry that such jobs were not being given to the local Marathis. He started a Hindu nationalist political party called Shiv Sena in 1966 to fight for the rights of Marathis (people who belong to Maharashtra). Today, Shiv Sena is a powerful political party in India. Its leader and Bal Thackeray’s son, Uddhav Thackeray, is the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Who is Eknath Shinde?
Eknath Shinde is a senior leader of the Shiv Sena. He’s also the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Thane. He is extremely popular within the party. Shinde used to drive auto-rickshaws. He gave that up to join Shiv Sena in the 1980s after being inspired by Bal Thackeray.
Why did Eknath Shinde become upset with Shiv Sena?
Currently, Shiv Sena is facing its worst internal crisis in history. This has been caused by a disagreement between Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde. Shinde is unhappy that Thackeray is preparing his own son, Aditya Thackeray, to become the next leader of Shiv Sena even though Shinde is older and more experienced than him. Shiv Sena has teamed up with two political parties - Nationalist Congress Party and Congress - to form the government in Maharashtra. They did this because they didn’t have enough votes to form Maharashtra’s government on their own. Shinde wants Shiv Sena to team up only with other pro-Hindu parties like itself.
What does the Shiv Sena rebellion look like?
Out of the 55 MLAs of the state of Maharashtra, 46 have announced their loyalty to Eknath Shinde. It looks like the Thackerays don’t have control over Shiv Sena anymore.
How is Uddhav Thackeray dealing with the rebellion?
Uddhav Thackeray has offered to give up being Chief Minister. The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress partnership is also likely to break. The political situation in Maharashtra is like a masala Bollywood movie. We’re watching excitedly to see what happens next.
