Thackeray re-union: Timeline of events in Raj and Uddhav political career

Balasaheb Thackeray is a name synonymous with Marathi pride, culture, and history. He began his career as a political cartoonist for The Free Press Journal (FPJ) but later left that to establish the Shiv Sena party in 1966. The core goal of the Shiv Sena was to advocate for the rights of the Marathi people. Over time, the Shiv Sena evolved into a powerful political force in Maharashtra. As Balasaheb grew older, he passed the leadership of Shiv Sena to his son, Uddhav Thackeray, naming him the working president in 2003. This decision was disliked by Balasaheb’s nephew, Raj Thackeray. Feeling sidelined, Raj parted ways in 2005 and formed his party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), in 2006.

For years, both cousins led their separate political paths. In 2014, the BJP and Shiv Sena contested the Maharashtra Assembly elections together, but faced intense heat over seat-sharing. Eventually, they did not fight the elections together. BJP emerged as the single largest party and formed the government under Devendra Fadnavis, with Shiv Sena joining later. Uddhav accepted a smaller role in government, but the tension continued to grow.

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On the other hand, Raj Thackeray’s MNS showed early promise, especially in the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, where the party won 13 seats and gained significant support in urban areas like Mumbai and Pune.

The real turning point came in 2019. After winning the elections again, Uddhav refused to accept a junior role and demanded a 50-50 power-sharing deal, including a chance to be CM for 2.5 years. The BJP didn’t agree and the alliance broke down. In a stunning move, Uddhav joined hands with former rivals the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as Chief Minister of Maharashtra, marking a major shift in Maharashtra’s politics.

However, in July 2022, Eknath Shinde led a massive rebellion within Shiv Sena, splitting the party and joining hands with the BJP to collapse the Uddhav government. In a major twist, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the Chief Minister with Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy. Eventually, the Election Commission recognised Shinde’s group as the “real Shiv Sena,” giving him the party name and symbol.

The BJP and the Shinde-led Sena then joined forces with Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction. Under this government, a GR (government resolution) was issued according to the 2020 National Educational Policy (NEP), which stated three languages in the academic curriculum. With English and Marathi being the primary two languages, the government added Hindi as the third language.

This sparked a strong reaction from both Raj and Uddhav Thackeray as they feared Hindi was on the Marathi people. Though politically apart for almost 20 years, they united in protest against Hindi imposition in the state. They said this was not just a language issue but a matter of Marathi identity.