For the first time in India, two pro-Hindutva parties will be ranged against each other on the treasury benches and in the opposition. Leading the opposition in the state legislative assembly, the soft-spoken Eknath Sambhaji Shinde, 50, from Shiv Sena is set for an uphill task to take on erstwhile ally BJP.
The Thane strongman, who began his political career as a shakha pramukh, will have the challenge of keeping his flock together and aggressively taking on the BJP, which occupies the treasury benches in a minority government. While the BJP has effectively managed to keep the Sena out of power, the party will now have to appropriate the opposition space from the Congress, which is in disarray and the NCP, which is still smarting under a massive anti-incumbency wave it faced in the assembly polls.
Shinde is a disciple of the late Anand Dighe, the Sena boss who built the party in Thane district and enjoys a talismanic appeal over the party faithful even today. In fact, old timers still proudly speak of the Sena as "Dighe saheb's" party. He even sports a beard similar to his mentor.
Shinde, who hails from the mountainous Jawli taluka in Satara, came to Thane city and steadily built a reputation in the city's politics. Today, Shinde, who had a stint as a RSS swayamsevak, is almost the undisputed boss of the Sena in Thane district.
The Wagle estate resident is a two-term corporator in the Thane municipal corporation, and was a member of the powerful standing committee for three years and the leader of the house for four years. In 2004, Shinde was elected to the legislative assembly from Thane and in 2009, contested and won from the Kopri- Pachpakhadi segment after the delimitation exercise. In 2014, he was re-elected to the lower house of the legislature. A few years ago, there were murmurs that Shinde was a being sidelined in the Sena's internal politics and was miffed at the party.
Shinde, who is known for his stoic demeanour, is known for his massive public outreach and managed to get his son Dr Shrikant, an orthopaedic surgeon get elected to the Lok Sabha from the Kalyan constituency defeating the NCP's and Anand Paranjape, who had defected from the Shiv Sena and Raju Patil of the MNS.
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