Locked in mortal combat with its erstwhile friend-turned-bitter-foe, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena’s recent voter outreach drive to rebuild its party across Maharashtra is a clear signal of the party’s assertion of its Hindutva credentials.
The four-day drive, which began on March 22 and ended on March 25, coincides with the raids on Sena chief and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s kin and other Sena leaders like MLA Pratap Sarnaik. The Sena, expectedly, accused the BJP of playing foul with the Centre’s flagrant misuse of Central agencies.
It also comes at a time when the BJP, buoyed by its wins in four Assembly elections including Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Goa, has now set its sights on wresting Maharashtra from the Sena in the 2024 Assembly election.
