The iconic Shivaji Park in Mumbai witnessed a fiery political spectacle on Dussehra as Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray delivered a scathing speech aimed directly at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a rally that carried both emotional weight and sharp political messaging, Thackeray accused the BJP of hypocrisy, questioned its monopoly over Hindutva, and challenged its attempts to undermine his political legitimacy since the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena. He began his speech by thanking his supporters who braved heavy rains and muddy grounds to attend the annual Dussehra rally, a political tradition first started by Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in 1966. The crowd’s determination, Uddhav said, was proof of who truly had the support of the people, and he used the occasion to reiterate that his party needed no certificates of Hindutva from the BJP.
Over the past two years, the Dussehra rally in Mumbai has transformed into a battlefield of narratives between two rival factions of the Shiv Sena: Uddhav Thackeray’s faction and the group led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who walked away with the party’s name and symbol after aligning with the BJP. Both sides have sought to claim the legacy of Bal Thackeray, the founder of the Shiv Sena and a towering figure in Maharashtra’s political history. Against this backdrop, Uddhav’s Dussehra rally this year was not only a show of strength but also a pointed reminder to the BJP that the Shiv Sena’s Hindutva was not up for debate.
Uddhav Thackeray’s Sharp Attack on BJP and the Hindutva Debate
In one of the most striking parts of his address, Uddhav Thackeray warned the BJP not to “teach Hindutva” to his party. He recalled the accusations repeatedly thrown at him by BJP leaders who claim he abandoned Hindutva by joining hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition. Thackeray directly confronted this narrative, asking whether the BJP had the courage to question Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat for his outreach to Muslim leaders.
Thackeray reminded his audience that Bhagwat himself had met Muslim intellectuals and clerics in recent years to promote harmony between the two communities. If such dialogues were acceptable at the highest level of the RSS, he asked, then why was he being vilified for sharing power with secular allies. The real question, Thackeray argued, was whether the BJP was selectively weaponising Hindutva as a political tool rather than treating it as an ideology of unity and cultural pride.
His words were laced with warning: “If the BJP is trying to teach us Hindutva, then don’t dare. I am warning the BJP today—don’t you dare to talk against us on the issue of Hindutva.” The statement carried echoes of his father Bal Thackeray’s aggressive political style, which often combined emotional fervour with rhetorical sharpness. By invoking Hindutva in this manner, Uddhav sought to underline that the Shiv Sena’s credentials were rooted in decades of struggle and not subject to BJP’s certification.
Thackeray also pushed back against the BJP’s charge that aligning with Muslims or secular forces diluted Hindutva. “The RSS chief has conducted meetings with Muslims leaders to maintain peace between the two communities. I now want to ask BJP leaders what they have to say about this. Will you question Bhagwat as well?” His sharp rhetorical question underlined the contradictions within the BJP’s current strategy, exposing what he called a double standard when it came to political alliances and outreach.
Another theme that dominated Thackeray’s speech was his attack on the BJP’s narrative of nationalism, which he accused the ruling party of misusing for political mileage. Referring to the controversy around India’s Asia Cup match against Pakistan, Thackeray reiterated his earlier remarks comparing BJP’s handling of the debate to a farcical drama. He criticised the attempt to draw parallels between a cricket match and military operations like “Operation Sindoor,” calling it an insult to the armed forces and a distortion of true patriotism.
“The BJP should stop this drama, where the father talks against Pakistan and the son asks the team to play with Pakistan, which killed our people in Pahalgam,” Thackeray declared, in a veiled reference to the contradictions within BJP leaders’ positions. He pointed out that while BJP leaders frequently raise the issue of national security and label their opponents as “anti-national,” they themselves were sending conflicting signals regarding engagement with Pakistan.
Thackeray went further, accusing the BJP of trying to monopolise the definition of patriotism. On October 1, during the same rally, he categorically stated that those who were “deshdrohi” (anti-national) enjoyed the India-Pakistan final, while he refrained from even watching the game as a matter of principle. “I don’t want to speak about the match as I have not watched it. As a deshbhakt (patriot), I have not seen the match. Those who are deshdrohi have enjoyed the match,” he said, reinforcing his position that genuine patriotism did not require symbolic acts or political grandstanding.
This section of his speech was significant not only because it targeted BJP’s narrative on nationalism but also because it reflected the Sena’s historical approach of tying patriotism to pride, sacrifice, and loyalty to the nation. In drawing a line between genuine “deshbhakti” and what he saw as performative nationalism, Thackeray attempted to reclaim political ground that the BJP has dominated in recent years.
Uddhav Thackeray’s Dussehra rally this year thus served multiple purposes: it was a reaffirmation of the Shiv Sena’s Hindutva identity, a rebuttal to BJP’s accusations of betrayal, and a declaration that his faction remains rooted in both Bal Thackeray’s legacy and a modern articulation of nationalism. His speeches, filled with sharp attacks, political irony, and emotive appeals, carried forward the Shiv Sena’s tradition of using the Dussehra rally as both a symbolic and strategic event. For Uddhav, who continues to battle the BJP and the Shinde-led faction for political space, the rally was a platform to assert that the Sena’s ideological identity remains intact and its relevance in Maharashtra’s politics undiminished.
