Mumbai: Shivaji Park, a large ground in South Central Mumbai – Dadar to those who know the metropolis – is a much-coveted public ground now. As many as four political parties have asked for its use for public rallies of their respective parties, all on the evening of November 17, to conclude their electioneering for the Maharashtra Assembly.
Who gets the rights is like a lottery.
The polling is scheduled for November 20 with counting of votes on September 23. No campaign is allowed after 5-00 pm of September 18 so the concluding rally has to be on September 17. Each party is trying to elbow its way to the massive ground not because it is lucky but is convenient due to its location, easily accessible by local trains on both the Central and Western Railways.
The applicants
The applications have gone from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), Shiv Sena (Shinde), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray, and the Bharatiya Janata Party. As of now it appears the Congress has not applied to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for its use, and simultaneously, for the police clearance. It is unclear where the Congress would hold its final rally.
The MNS was the first this time to apply for its use and is hoping it would get the necessary permissions. For the three Senas, it has an added significance because on its edge, Bal Thackeray was cremated, and a memorial was built to mark the spot; all three claim that they are avowed followers of the undivided Shiv Sena. The BJP had tagged with Uddhav’s Sena to mark the day each year and now it does with the Shinde-led party to mark the anniversaries.
Historical place
The ground is massive, centrally located, easily accessible, and with a history behind it. It has, however, been the preserve of the undivided Shiv Sena founded by Bal Thackeray. Since the party is named after Chhatrapati Shivaji, and the first rally was held there after its founding on a Dussehra day, the place later came to be known also as Shivtheerth.
It is a 28-acre parcel of land, semi-circular in shape, nestled between what was a middle-class Marathi area though it is now one of the most expensive real estate chunk of land. Traditionally all the Dussehra, the Shiv Sena holds mammoth rallies each year. The cycle was disrupted a couple of times because Raj Thackeray had managed to get the privilege after splitting the Sena. MNS is in the election fray this time without an alliance.
It is a ground that is not easy to fill except by the Shiv Sena; the sainiks do not require to be ferried to the rally as many political parties do all over the country. They come at their expense, often chartering buses. So herculean a task it was for even the BJP despite it being the ally of the Shiv Sena. It marshaled courage only later when a few combined rallies were held.
Marathas love it
The place has a history of its own. The campaign for a Samyukt Maharashtra, that is, for a Marathi-speaking state, with Mumbai as its capital, by dividing the Bombay State held its public events at the Shivaji Park. It may be mentioned that the christening had nothing to do with the founding of the Shiv Sena; it was named during the colonial period when the park was the lung for the precinct with low rise 187 buildings.
The split in the Sena over two years ago has had its impact and it was visible this time on Dussehra. All rallies until 2-3 years ago only had a few rows of sofas and then some chairs and the other attendees known as kaaryakartas would squat on the ground. When the boom cameras moved over them, one could judge the strength of the rally. A latest event showed that the audience was spaced by providing a chair for each. The elbow room was there to see.
Even Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Dussehra event, carrying forward the Sena tradition of talking to its cadre, was held on an equally massive ground, Azad Maidan opposite the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial Terminus (CSMT) which earlier was the Victoria Terminus of the railways. Here too chairs were placed for the audience betrayed how the split in the party has divided the cadre strength of the two mutants. Raj Thackeray who used to compete with cousin Uddhav has given up Dussehra rallies and now holds them on the Marathi New Year which coincides with the Telugu’s Ugadi.
Intense competition
The Shiv Sena and MNS competed so intensely for the right to use the ground that often either of them was pushed into a large auditorium, the Shanmukhananda Hall, which is close by at Matunga. But the flavour is different when such events are held in the open and the crowds throng the venue. The main speakers, including Bal Thackeray, confessed to this writer that addressing it from a dais there was “Kuch aur hai.”
| 
