MUMBAI: Following the rebellion in Shiv Sena by Eknath Shinde, now the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the Uddahv Thackeray-led faction of the party is facing an unprecedented crisis. To tackle the crisis effectively and aggressively, demand is growing Tejas Thackeray, youngest son of Uddhav Thackeray, should be brought into party politics immediately.
Shiv Sena supremo late Balasaheb Thackeray once called his grandson Tejas as todphod (attacking and aggressive) Sena. Tejas has so far kept himself aloof from the active politics. He was seen as more interested in wildlife photography and in scientific research.
Recently, Tejas attended a couple of meetings with elder brother Aditya and was keen to campaign for him in Worli constituency. Tejas even reacted to his father Uddhav Thackeray's resigning as the Chief Minister. Taking to Instagram, he shared an emotional picture of Uddhav looking through the window at the clouds from inside of a flight. Tejas captioned this picture with the excerpts of Rabindranath Tagore's 'When the mind is without fear and head is held high', a poem that featured in his Nobel-winning anthology 'Gitanjali'.
According to a Shiv Sena leader, Aditya Thackeray now has been travelling across Maharashtra to rebuild his party. “There is demand within the youth wing of Shiv Sena that Aditya Thackeray, who is its leader, should be made the working president of the party and make 26-year-old Tejas the chief of the youth wing,” he added.
“There is opportunity for the youths to fill the void within the party and state politics after the exit of Shinde and his supporters. People sympathyse with Uddhav Thackeray for the way he was forced to step down as CM. That sympathy and positive perceptions have to be used and converted as support for the party in the coming elections."
Tejas is young and can work hard to reach the remote and far flung areas with party's message. The Thackeray name is a brand and gramour that will surely pull the crowd. Maharashtra politics is always centered around two surnames – Pawar and Thackeray,” said senior Shiv Sena leader.
He added, “Tejas Thackeray can be the centre point to attract the youths towards Sena. And this is the right time to launch Tejas Thackeray for a larger plan,” said the leader requesting anonymity.