Mumbai: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, sworn-in Thursday as the 18th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, faces the biggest test of his life as the leader of an ideologically divergent alliance which took charge at a time of momentous political changes in the state.
An ace photographer, Uddhav is the third Sena Chief Minister, after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane (both in 1990s), and the first member of the Thackeray family to hold the top post in the country’s richest state.
Uddhav, 59, otherwise considered an affable, mild-mannered politician, displayed combative traits of his father, Sena founder Bal Thackeray, in dealing with one-time senior ally BJP on the demand for rotational chief ministership just after Assembly poll results were announced October 24.
Uddhav stood his ground and refused to budge on the issue of splitting the chief ministership, a stand that eventually led to the collapse of the three-decade old saffron-Sena alliance.
After outmaneuvering the BJP, the Sena chief will now have to prove his credentials as a leader who can navigate a new political path with ideologically different parties like the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), partners in the Sena-led ruling coalition, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Though in politics for long, Thackeray has never contested an election or held a public post and it will be interesting to watch how he learns the ropes of governance in a state which is an economic powerhouse and home to the financial capital of the country.
Born July 27, 1960 in Mumbai, Uddhav studied at Balmohan Vidyamandir and later graduated from the JJ School of Arts, where photography was his main subject.
Besides being a published author, he is also a professional photographer whose work has appeared in various magazines and has been showcased at numerous exhibitions.
Uddhav largely lived in the shadows of his legendary father Bal Thackeray before coming on his own after being appointed the Sena working president in January 2003. He formally took over as the chief of Sena after his father died in 2012.
Known for his passion for photography, Uddhav started out in the advertising field by setting up an agency called ‘Chaurang’. He specialises in aerial and wildlife photography. He has two photo books to his credit, ‘Maharashtra Desh’ (2010) on the forts of the state, and ‘Pahava Vitthal’ (2011) on the Pandharpur wari (on pilgrimage to the temple town of Pandharpur).
A few years ago, Thackeray organised an exhibition of his photographs and Rs 10 lakh collected from their sales was donated for farmer causes.
Like former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who started out in politics by helping his mother Indira Gandhi, the current Sena chief began assisting his father at a time when the firebrand Sena patriarch was aging and the party’s sphere was expanding. Uddhav focused on strengthening the organisation and encouraged cadres to take up issues of farmers in the suicide-prone districts of rural Maharashtra.
After completing his journey from ‘Matoshree’’ the Thackeray home in suburban Bandra, to ‘Varsha’, the CM’s residence in south Mumbai, the Sena leader will have to reinvent himself, according to political observers. He will now have to display flexibility and political acumen to deal with new-found allies and keep the coalition government going for five years, said analysts
Over 20 years ago, Uddhav was seen as a ‘reluctant’ politician, living a cosy life with his wife Rashmi and sons Aaditya (now an MLA) and Tejas at ‘Matoshree’.
But now that he has taken plunge into governance and managing a disparate coalition, a slew of challenges awaits Uddhav, who will be one of the most closely watched politicians in the country in these media-driven times.
Since the Sena leader is currently not a legislator, he will have to get elected either to the Legislative Assembly or the Council within six months of taking oath.
Agencies