Two days of downpour and fears that Sainiks may question Uddhav Thackeray's organisational skills has forced the Shiv Sena to cancel its annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park for the first time in forty years. |
The Sena's Dussehra rally and full house at Shivaji Park, which can accommodate up to three lakh people, has been an annual feature since the Sena's birth. |
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Last year, some Sena leaders even sent a petition to the Guinness Book of World Records for holding the rally of one leader at the same place and on the same day for four decades. |
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That's why when newspapers offices received a fax from the Shiv Sena Bhavan, informing them about the rally's postponement, their first reaction was disbelief. |
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Other parties, who keenly observe the Sena's Dussehra rally to see the morale of the Sena cadre and signs of the direction the party may take, are surprised. More so because this year's rally was supposed to be the launch of the Sena's campaign for municipal and zila parishad elections, slated for early next year and this December, respectively. |
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Some Sena old-timers said rain could be one reason but not the only reason. Rains have never deterred Bal Thackeray from holding this one rally, they say. |
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They said the Dussehra rally used to be heavily attended by Sainiks from Mumbai and neighbouring Thane districts and to some extent by those from Nashik and Pune. With Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray, who had a huge following among the Sainiks from these areas leaving the party, the leadership's confidence is shaken. |
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That Shiv Sainiks were unable to clear Shivaji Park shows a loss of confidence among the Sainiks, known for their organising abilities and capacity to mobilise crowds |
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However, a section of Sena leaders who is more loyal to party leadership says, "Everyone knows that Balasaheb is not in the pink of health and addressing such a mammoth rally for an hour or so is a very tiring task. That's why the party leadership felt it was better to postpone the rally and reserve his fire power for municipal elections." |
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"This shows a party in decline. Leaving of leaders like Rane and Raj has definitely hit the party even if the leadership wants to believe otherwise," political commentator Kumar Ketkar said. |
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"Thackeray has lost his touch and charisma as an orator over the last few years and his speeches don't evoke the same passion and spirit in party activists as they used to," Ketkar added. |
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