Uddhav Thackeray: Opposition Alliance Strike Weapon (image-facebook/Uddhav Thackeray)

The ongoing Lok Sabha election has changed the dynamics of Maharashtra. Uddhav Thackeray had a long-to-do list ahead of the Lok Sabha election results. The first major issue to be handled is the restoration of Shiv Sena (UBT)’s legitimacy to one of the country’s key regional forces. 

With four of the six Mumbai Lok Sabha seats and a 22-strong share of the total tally of 48 seats under his belt, Thackeray has played his card well. 

Uddhav Thackeray is the son of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and has served as the 19th chief minister of Maharashtra, forming a coalition- the Maha Vikas Aghadi- with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. Uddhav entered politics in 2002 when he joined the Shiv Sena campaign as in charge of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections. Later he was elected as the party head in 2013 following the death of Balasaheb Thackeray. 

In 2022, three years after MVA came into power, the split of the Shiv Sena occurred. Several lawmakers along with Eknath Shinde rebelled and formed another faction. The rebels criticized Uddhav for partnering with center-left parties such as Congress and the NCP who showed a softer approach to politics, a change from the party’s hardcore pro-Hindu image. 

Although leading a Hindu nationalist party, Uddhav has always been critical of Narendra Modi”s government at the Centre. He had shifted his standpoint during the 2019 elections as his party had switched a poll deal with the BJP to reinstate Modi as the prime minister.

However, in this election, there is talk of a sympathy wave for Thackeray after all that he had to undergo for two years; split in the party, nomenclature and the saffron flag- all in one fell swoop and the ED crackdown on party functionaries.