Standing outside Dadar’s Hanuman temple, Uddhav launched the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Rama Raksha Andolan, invoked the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, recalled Bal Thackeray’s role in it, and accused those handling donations at the Ayodhya Ram temple of betraying devotees’ faith.
The immediate trigger was the alleged irregularities in the handling of donations at the Ram temple. Politically, however, the campaign appeared to signal something larger.
Less than two weeks after six of his nine Lok Sabha MPs crossed over to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and days after senior Mumbai leader Sachin Ahir switched sides, Uddhav has sought to shift the political chatter away from defections and back to ideology.
After the MPs’ rebellion, Uddhav toured their constituencies to reassure party workers. Sunday’s programme was the party’s first major statewide political campaign since those setbacks.
