Shiv Sena

Shiv Sena, roughly translated as the 'Army of Lord Shiva', is a regional political party, as approved by the Election Commission of India. Its mass base is primarily in the state of Maharashtra, along with visible presence in the Konkan coastal areas, though the Shiv Sena has tried to make its presence felt in other states of India having a strong Hindu majority. This party has a far-right political position, with political ideologies of Hindutva and Maratha nationalism. In other words, the Shiv Sena believes in extreme regional chauvinism and ethnic exclusivity. The Shiv Sena is thus, a Hindu nationalist political organization. Formed on June 19, 1966, by the one-time political cartoonist Balasaheb Thackeray, famously known as Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena was really a brain child of Bal’s father Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, who actively participated in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement (United Maharashtra Movement). In post-independence India of the early 1950s, when boundaries of states were redrawn owing to linguistic affinities, the movement demanded a separate state for Marathi-speaking population, calling it Maharashtra. So intense were the demands of the movement that massive riots and political struggles took place within the Bombay Presidency during that time. However, Bombay being the economic capital of India attracted people from various regions for job opportunities. Especially, people from Bihar and South India started flocking to the city in large numbers.

It was in such times that Bal Thackeray attracted the sentiments of the Marathi youth, and his cartoons were directed against the migrants to Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena did not begin as a political party as such, but as a group of Marathi chauvinist men who protested against any and all forms of non-Marathis settling down in the state. Such fascist attitudes soon began to get huge acceptance among people, especially the youth, and soon the Shiv Sena, otherwise branded as extremist, fascist, chauvinist, became a massive political organization. Their main demand was to favour the Maharashtrians over the migrant populations in the state.  Soon, the Shiv Sena began spreading its regional exclusivity claims to include strong religious affiliations, and become intolerant of all religions apart from Hinduism. It allied with the BJP-led National Democratic Front, and began preaching for a country based on Hindu nationalism. It has been alleged that the Shiv Sena had a pivotal role to play in the various riots which took place in Maharashtra, such as the 1984 Bhiwandi riots, and the infamous 1992-93 Bombay riots. The party played an active part in the NDA cabinet in the Centre from 1998-2004.

Presently, after the death of Bal Thackeray in 2012, his son Udhav Thackeray has taken over as the head of the Shiv Sena, as its Karyapramukh (Chief). His son Aditya Thackeray is the youth leader of the party. Though the party suffered a split in 2005 when Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj Thackeray broke away from the party to create his own political faction, the Shiv Sena has retained its stronghold in Mumbai and the interiors of Maharashtra, with its strong regional and ethnic appeal.

Election Symbol of Shiv Sena

The Election Symbol of the Shiv Sena, as approved by the Election Commission of India, is “Bow and Arrow”. It is usually drawn on a saffron-coloured flag of the party. The use of saffron in the flag is indicative of the strong Hindu nationalist sentiment that the party caters to. Saffron is the colour of Hinduism, as the ‘tilak’ used in temples and other Hindu religious ceremonies, to smear on the foreheads of devotees, is saffron in colour. Along with it, the distinct use of the bow and arrow as its election symbol, is significant as it depicts what the party stands for.

A bow and arrow is a simple tool, made to target and attack any particular object or person. In Hindu mythology and epics specifically, the bow and arrow was used as one of the prominent and most successful tools for warfare. In other words, the bow and arrow is an age-old device to kill one’s enemy. The same thought reigns supreme in the ideology of the Shiv Sena. Clearly, this is a specific Hindu symbolism as the bow and arrow finds most prominent mention in Hindu religious characters and figures, as well as in ancient Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Pictorially too, the party symbol is representative of its ideologies of regional, ethnic and linguistic exclusiveness, and its intolerance of those who are not Marathis. The symbol indicates the attitude of the Shiv Sainiks to target and kill all those who are not Marathis, and are therefore considered their chief enemy. This fascist and extremist political ideology is visible through the vibrant use of this symbol by the Shiv Sena.

 

Leaders of the Shiv Sena

The leaders of the Shiv Sena, who are also the national executives of the party, are listed below:

• Udhav Thackeray, President and Chairperson of Shiv Sena: After the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, his son Udhav Thackeray became the Karyapramukh of the party. He was handed over the post of Shiv Sena’s working president in 2003, when the party won the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation Election in 2002.
• Aditya Thackeray, President of Yuva Sena or youth faction of Shiv Sena: The grandson of Bal Thackeray, Aditya is the over-arching youth leader of the youth wing of the party. The youth wing spreads not only across Maharashtra, but also in Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Anand Prakash Paranjpe, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Kalyan constituency of Maharashtra.
• Anandrao Adsul, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Amravati constituency of Maharashtra.
• Anant Gangaram Geete, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Raigad constituency of Maharashtra.
• Bhavana Patil Surve Gawali, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: She represents the Yavatmal- Wasim constituency of Maharashtra.
• Chandrakant Bhaurao Khaire, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Aurangabad constituency of Maharashtra.
• Dudhgaonkar Ganeshrao Nagorao, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Parbhani constituency of Maharashtra.
• Gajanan Dharmshi Babar, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Maval constituency of Maharashtra.
• Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Buldhana constituency of Maharashtra.
• Shivaji Adhalrao Patil, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Shirur constituency of Maharashtra.
• Subhash Bapurao Wankhede, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Hingoli constituency of Maharashtra.
• Wakchaure Bhausaheb Rajaram, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha: He represents the Shirdi constituency of Maharashtra.
• Anil Desai, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
• Dr. Bharatkumar Raut, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
• Sanjay Raut, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha

Achievements of Shiv Sena

As a regional political party, the Shiv Sena has had a number of achievements. Some of these are listed below:

• The Shiv Sena, being one of the largest regional political parties, has a number of frontal mass organizations. These are the student wing called the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, the youth wing of the party called the Yuva Sena, and its women’s wing called the Shiv Sena Mahila Aghadi. These different wings have significantly upheld the interests of the different sections of the community they proclaim to cater. These frontal organizations have their branches not only in Maharashtra, but in other states too, such as Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Bihar and Kerala. The Mahila Aghadi for instance, settles domestic disputes in Mumbai households and has greatly reduced women oppression in the families, due to its active participation.


• The Shiv Sena claims to have largely helped in the cause of the top-notch industrialists in the state of Maharashtra, as its draconian rules apparently greatly maintained peaceful working conditions in the industries. This in turn led to increase in productivity of the industry, claims the party. In fact, the Shiv Sena went into frequent tussles with workers’ trade unions and the labour wings of left parties like CPI and CPI-M, as the Shiv Sena often opposed the rights of the workers in a factory.
• The Shiv Sena claims to have played a central role in the emancipation of 500,000 slum dwellers in the Dharavi regions of Mumbai. This is considered to be the largest slum in all of Asia. The Shiv Sena apparently gave free houses to these slum dwellers.

Address and contact details

• Official Website of Shiv Sena: http://www.shivsena.org
• Head-Office Address of Shiv Sena: Shivsena Bhavan, Ram Ganesh Gadkari Chowk, Shivaji Park, Dadar West, Mumbai 400 028
• Contact numbers: 022-04371199
• Email id: [email protected]

SHS Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha Election Results Year Wise

Lok Sabha				Vidhan Sabha
State	Latest Year	Seats Won		Latest Year	Seats Won
Maharashtra	2019	18		2019	56