SHIV SENA ROCKED BY RAJ THACKERAY'S RESIGNATION AS PARTY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MUMBAI 002251 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL IN SUBJECT: SHIV SENA ROCKED BY RAJ THACKERAY'S RESIGNATION AS PARTY FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE REF: A: MUMBAI 2199; B: MUMBAI 2222 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Raj Thackeray, nephew of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, rocked the Mumbai political establishment on November 27 by announcing his resignation from all Shiv Sena party leadership posts over differences with his cousin and party executive president Uddhav Thackeray. Raj's announcement came in the wake of Shiv Sena's colossally poor showing against former Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane in the November 19 Malvan by-election. The humiliating Malvan loss to Rane, who defected to the rival Congress Party, appeared to have exacerbated the long-standing rivalry between Raj and his cousin Uddhav and has led to a full-fledged public leadership crisis. The open fight among the party's leaders and the election loss has highlighted the challenges facing Shiv Sena and which threaten its relevancy in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena also faces the possibility of more defections to the Congress Party. Long-term political and demographic shifts further threaten the party's prospects as a political force in a changing Mumbai. Finally, Shiv Sena's ineffectual record in office, both in Mumbai and the state government, has left supporters disillusioned with the party. End Summary. LEADERSHIP STRUGGLE BETWEEN THACKERAYS BREAKS OUT -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Raj Thackeray's resignation from his Shiv Sena leadership posts, as chief of the party's campus wing (the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena) and his position on the national working committee, on November 27 rocked the party. The move has instigated a publicly fought leadership battle between Raj and his cousin, party executive president Uddhav Thackeray. In a fiery resignation speech, given in front of a large crowd of supporters, Raj attacked Uddhav's leadership and questioned his ability to rally supporters to the party's cause. Raj did not quit the party itself, leaving open the possibility that he planned to challenge Uddhav for Shiv Sena's leadership. These moves came in the wake of the November 19 Malvan by-election loss, in which Shiv Sena's candidate was beaten badly by former party leader Narayan Rane. Claiming he had been pushed aside in recent elections, Raj blamed the poor election showing on Uddhav and the current Shiv Sena leadership. This open dissension among the Shiv Sena leadership, along with the fallout from the recent election loss, threatened to split the party and could accelerate the ultimate implosion of Shiv Sena. ¶3. (SBU) The leadership crisis is not unexpected. The rivalry between Raj and Uddhav had been a long-simmering source of dissension within Shiv Sena. Party founder Bal Thackeray, Uddhav's father and Raj's uncle, has dominated Shiv Sena since its founding in 1966. With a charismatic personality and florid rhetorical style, not to mention a keen sense of the dramatic, Thackeray was able to maintain the unquestioned loyalty of his Shiv Sainiks ("Soldiers of Shiva") until recently. Advancing age and ill health have limited his day-to-day involvement in decision-making and party activities in recent years and he ceded nearly all day-to-day authority to Uddhav. Raj, however, had long hoped to take up his uncle's mantle as party leader. ¶4. (SBU) As party leader, Uddhav appears to have neither his father's charismatic appeal nor his organizational skills. Several political observers, including Mumbai University Politics Professor Uttara Sahasrabuddhe and Mumbai Mirror news editor Vaibhav Purandare, told poloff that Uddhav was not well-loved among Shiv Sena's political organization or its core voters and could not count on their support over the long-term. Purandare stated that many Shiv Sena members viewed Uddhav as inflexible, incompetent and incapable of holding his father's supporters together. Raj, however, has captured the support of many among the Shiv Sainik rank-and-file. Raj bears an uncanny physical resemblance to his uncle and has emulated his rhetorical and sartorial style. Raj's leadership style is also more emotional, and many in Shiv Sena appear to prefer it to Uddhav's more business-like management approach. At one time, Raj was seen as the most likely inheritor of Shiv Sena's leadership. Bal, however, largely relegated Raj to the sidelines in favor of Uddhav. ¶5. (SBU) The conventional wisdom had been that a final resolution of this leadership contest awaited Bal's final passing. Following the Malvan loss, which has raised doubts about Uddhav's ability to contest elections, however, Raj and his supporters now appeared ready to move the leadership issue to the forefront. Purandare told poloff that Raj would probably win over the party's loyalists against Uddhav in the long-run. Most local political observers, however, have noted that neither Raj nor Uddhav was likely to solve the party's problems. Purandare described Raj as a poor organizer without a vision for the party's direction who preferred spending late nights in local clubs to putting in long days at the office. "Imitation of Bal," argued Purandare, "won't get Raj far" toward saving the party. ¶6. (SBU) Beyond Uddhav and Raj, however, Shiv Sena appeared to have no strong leadership alternatives. Bal's leadership style brooked little challenge to his authority and he often pushed rising popular leaders, such as Chhagan Bhujbal, out before they could challenge him. Former state Chief Minister Manohar Joshi has been largely relegated to a supporting role. Bal's failure to develop younger leaders or even mid-level party managers left a void in the party organization and weakened its long-term prospects. BY-ELECTION LOSS MAY SIGNIFY LONG-TERM PROBLEMS -------------- -- ¶7. (SBU) Former Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane's huge victory over his Shiv Sena opponent in the November 19 Malvan district by-election race for the state parliament (reftels),appeared to have precipitated this latest fight over the direction of the party. Rane, who served as state Chief Minister in 1999, bolted Shiv Sena last summer in an acrimonious dispute over the party's leadership before joining the rival Congress Party as Revenue Minister in the ruling Congress-NCP state coalition government. The loss of this one seat means little for the balance of power in the state parliament, but has already proven significant in reshaping Shiv Sena's leadership and may redraw the political landscape in Maharashtra. The colossal margin of Rane's win (he took almost eighty-four percent of the vote) and Shiv Sena's complete ineffectiveness in rallying party loyalists following an all-out campaign to beat their one-time colleague has led many local pundits and politicians to doubt the long-term viability of the party. Many in the media here see the loss and resulting fall-out, including Raj's recent moves, as symptomatic of chronic underlying problems that have been festering for some time. The win particularly represented a personal embarrassment to Bal and Uddhav, who treated Rane's resignation and reelection campaign as public challenges to their authority and legitimacy as party leaders. KONKAN MAY BE LOST, MORE DEFECTIONS POSSIBLE -------------- ¶8. (SBU) In the midst of this leadership crisis, Shiv Sena is struggling publicly and privately with a number of other significant problems. The party now faces the prospect of a collapse of support in the rest of its former stronghold Konkan region, additional defections by legislators as well as members of the rank and file, and uncontrollable demographic and political/cultural shifts that will weaken the party's local power base. Any one of these problems may prove fatal to the party. ¶9. (SBU) The Malvan by-election loss may signify a collapse of party support in the western coastal region of the Konkan, where the district is located. Rane had long served as the face of the party in the region and had cultivated strong ties among a broad range of supporters through extensive local patronage efforts. Few of Shiv Sena's current leaders have reliable contacts in the region, and Rane's win, dominance of Konkan politics, and prominent position in the current Congress-NCP state government will make it difficult for Shiv Sena to maintain its control over the area, which had been considered an impregnable Shiv Sena bastion just six months ago. ¶10. (SBU) Three Rane supporters resigned their Shiv Sena membership and state parliament seats in October in support of Rane. Rane, both before and after his election victory, told local press that several other state Shiv Sena legislators were preparing to jump onto his new Congress party bandwagon. Local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lobbyist Kishor Joshi told poloff that some Shiv Sena corporators in the Mumbai city government could also resign. If true, this might be the strongest indication that the rank and file has lost confidence in the party's leadership and its prospects for contesting future elections in Maharashtra. DEMOGRAPHICS, DECLINING APPEAL OF HINDUTVA SHIFTING THE GROUND UNDER THE FEET OF THE SONS OF THE SOIL -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Broader political and cultural shifts, as well as changing local demographics, represent the greatest threat to Shiv Sena's long-term relevance as a political movement in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena's most significant electoral success came in the 1995 Maharashtra state parliament elections, in part through its successful exploitation of the Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) movement, in coalition with the BJP, following Hindu-Muslim communal violence in Mumbai in the early 1990's. The late 1990's, however, represented the apex of Hindutva's appeal to voters in Maharashtra, as the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition was voted out of office in 1999 and has not won a state-wide election here since. Hindu nationalism appeared to have taken a backseat to development issues in the minds of voters. Local BJP politician Ashish Shelar told poloff that the Maharashtra branch of his party "no longer talked about Hindutva that much," as economic and development issues played better with the electorate and noted that his party's leadership was debating whether to further distance itself from Hindutva. Without galvanizing events such as the 1992-3 Mumbai communal riots, Hindutva's ability to draw supporters will continue to be limited, according to Nehru Center Director Satish Sahney. ¶12. (SBU) Even worse for Shiv Sena, the "Sons of the Soil" movement of Marathi speakers, the original driving force behind party's creation, appeared to be losing ground to demographic shifts. In 1966, when Shiv Sena was founded in part to respond to the perceived economic and social threat of newly arrived migrants to Mumbai, Marathi speakers made up about forty percent of the city's residents. By the end of the Twentieth Century, that percentage had fallen. Media reports have indicated that recent moves to re-draw city and state electoral districts threatened to swing power from the Marathi-dominated urban areas to the suburban areas where more of the recent migrants live. Depending on how the lines are redrawn, Shiv Sena could have trouble contesting local elections as the number of districts where it is competitive are reduced and newer arrivals to the city dominate the new districts. Each year, more "foreign" migrants from the rest of India arrive in the city, making it increasingly difficult for Shiv Sena to keep up with other broader-based parties. VOTERS SOURED BY MISMANAGEMENT AND INEFFECTIVENESS IN OFFICE -------------- -------------- ¶13. (SBU) In discussions about Shiv Sena's prospects, several local political observers told poloff that many voters had been turned off Shiv Sena by its recent performance in office. The 1995-1999 BJP-Shiv Sena state government was largely ineffectual, with changing the city's name (from Bombay to Mumbai) and building several city road interchanges in Mumbai its most significant accomplishments, according to Mumbai University Politics Professor Uttara Sahasrabuddhe. Purandare stated that, although Shiv Sena had campaigned in part on a clean government platform, its officials in office have engaged in the same sort of corrupt practices as other parties' officials. Sahasrabuddhe pointed out that devastating recent floods in Mumbai, where Shiv Sena has dominated the government for much of the past two decades, are widely seen as having been caused in part by poor municipal planning and badly maintained sewers and infrastructure. SHIV SENA'S ELECTION PROSPECTS IN DOUBT -------------- ¶14. (SBU) In the face of these serious problems, many local political observers question whether Shiv Sena can long survive as a force in Maharashtra politics. The party faces local district elections next year, but its most significant upcoming political test will be in the 2007 Mumbai municipal elections. Shiv Sena currently controls the city government in coalition with the BJP. Sahney told poloff that Rane's defection and the continued struggles within Shiv Sena's organization will allow Congress to mount a serious challenge for control of the city government. If Shiv Sena should lose the Mumbai city elections, it will be lights out for the party in Maharashtra, predicted Purandare. COMMENT -------------- ¶15. (SBU) The twin earthquakes of Raj's leadership resignation and Rane's defection and smashing by-election win have left Shiv Sena's future in doubt. Further fallout from the Malvan election loss continues to roil the party and its membership, and events remain fluid. The immediate outcome is difficult to predict, but, whatever happens in the next few weeks, it appears that dark and difficult times lie ahead for Shiv Sena. Raj's resignation and attacks on Uddhav, at the least, threaten to split the party if the resulting leadership crisis is not resolved quickly. These recent issues appear to be symptoms of chronic problems that will continue to challenge the party, no matter who leads it. The party faces an uncertain future beset by leadership difficulties and uncontrollable political and demographic changes that will threaten the party's long-term relevancy in Maharashtra. End comment. OWEN