'Karun Dakhaola': Shiv Sena launches promotional blitzkrieg in Mumbai

In a grand self-congratulatory gesture, Shiv Sena-sponsored posters that say, ‘Karun Dakhaola’ (We have shown we can do it) have been found dotting the city, from walls of public toilets to movie screens.

Ahead of the civic polls, the saffron brigade has launched a massive campaign bragging about their role in recent positive developments in the city’s infrastructure. The party has installed over 250 hoardings, each of which feature Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray claiming credit for everything from providing open spaces to citizens to ensuring the replacement of water pipelines existing since the British era. The Sena also boasts of providing open-roof Best buses to the city.

However, the Sena chief has no qualms about the campaign. “We don’t believe in claiming credit for something we have not done. We have worked hard to make all this possible and we have shown that it is possible. There is nothing wrong in talking about it,” he said.

Prior to this mass campaign, Thackeray has been in the limelight for having become a serial ribbon-cutter at inaugural ceremonies in recent months, the most recent being the inauguration of the Middle Vaitarna Dam last week. In fact, the inaugural ceremony was held even though the project is incomplete.

However, the Sena is not alone in this voter-wooing exercise. The other ruling party in the civic body, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is giving the opposition stiff competition with their glossy self-assessment report books that carry catchy slogans.

A Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader requesting anonymity, said, “We don’t need these fake self-aggrandising tactics. We have worked for the people and they know it. These fancy books will make no difference in the coming polls.”