For senior Sena leaders, who are closely associated with the Thackeray family, the rise of Smita as a power centre always remained a mystery as well as cause for envy.
In 1995-99, when the Shiv Sena and BJP were ruling the state, the remote control may have been in the hands of Sena chief, Bal Thackeray but the parallel power centre was his glamourous daughter-in-law Smita, who then virtually ruled Matoshree. For senior Sena leaders, who are closely associated with the Thackeray family, the rise of Smita as a power centre always remained a mystery as well as cause for envy.
Smita began her career as a non-descript receptionist at the placement agency, Mopak Overseas Recruitment. In the late 1980s she married Jaidev the second son of Meenatai and Bal Thackeray. Till 1994, Smita played the role of a Thackeray daughter-in-law confining herself to household duties. When the saffron alliance was voted to power, it automatically saw VVIPs breezing in and out of Matoshree. After the demise of her mother-in-law, Meenatai, Smita took over the reins of Matoshree.
A former minister recalls, “We would dread a call from Madam Smita. It was as electrifying and commanding as that of Saheb. However, none of us dared to ever defy her orders.”
In the corridors of power it is no secret that when Thackeray took the final decision to drop then chief minister Manohar Joshi, it was Smita who played the crucial role in suggesting the name of Narayan Rane as the next CM. Despite his quitting the Shiv Sena, Rane still maintained cordial relations with Smita and Raj Thackeray, then considered close to Bal Thackeray.
To give her an independent identity, Thackeray senior allowed her to step into Bollywood as a film producer. There she made her mark with her debut film Haseena Man Jayege. Top film actors walked in and out of Matoshree to air their grievances or seek her patronage. Always fashionably dressed, she posed as a special guest at every film party at the time.
Nobody exactly knows the transformation of Smita from Bollywood producer to socio-political activist. Though her Mukti foundation, she did champion the cause of AIDS awareness and other social causes. When Thackeray Senior made it clear Uddhav was his heir apparent, things rapidly started changing in the Sena. First Rane left to join the Congress and then Raj quit Sena to start his own party, the Maharastra Navnirman Sena and the bahu was left behind. Over the years with Uddhav taking control not only of the party proceedings but also Matoshree, Smita, it appears is looking to redefine her role.
Insiders indicate that for the last three years, Smita has been fighting hard to establish her political identity through electoral politics. As she mentioned in an interview, “I was promised a Rajya Sabha seat. But it was not delivered.” Her decision to bid goodbye to Sena is an outcome of her anger for not getting the political reckoning within the Thackeray household and within the Sena, that she thought, with Thackeray senior refusing to go against the wishes of his son Uddhav. The writing is clear on the wall: Smita can no longer have a political career in Sena.
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