The city of Thane was close to Bal Thackeray’s heart. It was where the party first tasted electoral victory in 1967 by winning the civic polls, which would be closely followed by similar victories in Mumbai and Nashik. It was also once the fiefdom of legendary Sena leader Anand Dighe – known to run his territory free from interference from Bal Thackeray himself.
Dighe died in 2001. Today, his protégé, Eknath Shinde, is a thorn in the side of Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav, the chief minister of Maharashtra. Shinde is the leader of the rebellion against Uddhav’s leadership that’s now roiling the Shiv Sena and threatens to bring down its Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government.
