Today in Politics: Uddhav, Raj Thackeray to hold joint ‘victory' rally after Maharashtra govt reverses policy on Hindi

Indian Express

19 hours ago

For the first time in 20 years, estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will share the stage on Saturday at a joint 'victory' rally organised by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to celebrate the BJP-led Mahayuti government's rollback of two contentious government resolutions (GRs) on the three-language policy in Maharashtra.
Calling it 'Marathi Vijay Diwas', the parties had initially planned separate protest marches against the state government's three-language policy in schools, which the Opposition termed as an 'imposition of Hindi'.
Facing mounting pressure, ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly's Monsoon Session, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis revoked the GRs, which introduced Hindi as a third language in primary schools. The first GR had made Hindi the mandatory third language for students from Class 1 to 5, while the second one made it optional. The CM also announced the formation of a committee to reexamine the three-language policy.
On Friday, as the government sought to recover from the withdrawal of its GRs, Fadnavis said no one in the state should be targeted for not knowing Marathi, days after MNS workers assaulted a shopkeeper for not speaking in Marathi. Fadnavis's remarks came a day after his administration issued a resolution announcing that October 3 would be celebrated annually as 'Classical Marathi Language Day'.
With the elections to the high-profile Mumbai civic body and other municipal corporations due in the coming months, a potential rapprochement between the Thackeray brothers on the sensitive issue of the Marathi identity is being keenly watched in state political circles. Raj Thackeray, nephew of late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, had resigned from the then undivided Shiv Sena in 2006, apparently due to differences with Uddhav.
Of late, however, the Thackerays have come closer together, signalling a possible alliance in the forthcoming civic polls. But Raj Thackeray, particularly after a meeting with Fadnavis, had sparked further speculation of an alliance with the BJP.
While a Thackeray reunion could help consolidate the Marathi votes and tap into the emotional connect of older voters who long for the Bal Thackeray era, the BJP views the MNS as a strategic disruptor that draws support from the same Marathi-speaking electorate that forms the Sena (UBT)'s core voter base.
Though the Sena (UBT) and MNS are coming together for the joint rally on Saturday, where they will likely present a united front on the issue of Marathi identity, it remains to be seen if the parties form an alliance for the local body elections and beyond.
Amit Shah in Gujarat
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who also holds the cooperation portfolio, is set to visit Gujarat's Anand, where he will lay the foundation stone of the country's first national level cooperative university, the Tribhuvan Sahkari University, on Saturday.
Gujarat CM Bhupendrabhai Patel and Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary will also be in attendance, along with other Union and state ministers.
– With PTI inputs