Eknath Shinde camp settles Sena versus Sena debate

In a decisive verdict after the bitter split in the Shiv Sena in June 2022, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena can finally claim the title of the “real” Sena — the party won 57 of the 81 seats it contested in the Maharashtra assembly elections, battering the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), which managed just 20 of the 95 it contested.
It’s a victory of a magnitude that allows Shinde to convincingly establish his claim to the legacy of the Shiv Sena ideology. It also re-establishes Shinde’s Sena as one of the strongest allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
When Shinde split the undivided Sena in 2022, he took 40 MLAs and some Independents with him, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in the state. Shinde then joined the BJP to form a new government as chief minister. The battle between him and Thackeray has since been a bitter one, with both Uddhav, the son of Sena founder Bal Thackeray, and Shinde, who claims to be Bal Thackeray’s ideological legatee, claiming that their respective factions best represent the party and its values.
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In the Sena vs Sena fight in these elections, the two factions went head to head in 51 assembly constituencies across the state.
The Sena has won a staggering 27 of the 39 seats against the Sena (UBT), which won the rest just 12. One seat, Sangola, was won by Babasaheb Deshmukh (PWP candidate), sitting Shiv Sena MLA Shahaji Patil came second there, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Deepak Salunkhe finished third.
In the Lok Sabha elections, in 13 Sena vs Sena contests, the Shinde faction won seven seats and Uddhav faction six.
So, what did Shinde do right this time to pull away? After announcing and implementing the Mahayuti’s flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana for women just before the assembly elections — it gives ₹1,500 per month to women who belong to economically weaker section with annual income below ₹2.5 lakhs — Shinde unveiled a series of welfare schemes aimed at various sections of society, from home guards, kotwals, anganwadi workers, and enabled the setting up of corporations across communities.
He also led an extremely aggressive campaign, constantly reminding the people of the financial benefits his government had announced, and how they would have to forfeit all that if they voted the MVA alliance to power.
When he split the Sena to join the BJP, Shinde was not seen as a mass leader beyond his own bastion of Thane. In his early political battles, like in his speech at the annual Dussehra rally of the Sena in 2022, he even underlined his limitation as an orator. So he built an image of an “accessible leader” instead, making himself available to his office-bearers, MLAs and common people. Shinde started calling himself “common man”, instead of “chief minister”, scoring big win against Uddhav Thackeray, who was not easy to reach.
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There was also a regional plan to take control.
Soon after he became chief minister, Shinde made sure his faction would face no challenge from the Sena (UBT) in his bastion of Thane and in the Konkan belt by inducting most of the functionaries from the Thackeray faction into his party. Then, to create a base for his leadership in Mumbai, Shinde assigned his son, Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde, the critical task of inducting former corporators and party office-bearers from the Sena (UBT) into the Shiv Sena.
Prakash Akolkar, a senior political analyst and author of Jai Maharashtra, a book on the Shiv Sena, said these elections have not only cemented Shinde’s claim to the Shiv Sena’s ideology, they will likely create more trouble for Uddhav Thackeray.
“The Election Commission of India has already awarded the party name and symbol to Shinde. With this massive victory, Shinde will claim that he has the people’s mandate and that his is the ‘real’ Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray will have to face new challenges to keep his MLAs with him,” Akolkar said.