The Mumbai Police have increased security at the Shivaji Park and Bandra Kurla Complex since they anticipate large crowds at the rallies of the Shiv Sena factions.
The Shiv Sena’s rival factions, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, will hold two Dussehra rallies in Mumbai on Wednesday night for the first time since the party’s founding 56 years ago. This is being billed as a show of strength by both camps following a change in government in June.
The Mumbai Police have increased security at the Shivaji Park and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), an official said on Tuesday, anticipating large crowds at the rallies of the Sena factions.
According to sources, more than 5,000 buses, many small tourist cars, and a special train have been hired to transport followers of the two opposing Shiv Sena factions to their respective Dussehra demonstrations.
There will be more at the rallies than just speeches by the two friends-turned-enemies because the rival factions are vying to present themselves as the “real” Shiv Sena and try to claim the legacy of the late party founder Bal Thackeray. The rallies have sparked a great deal of interest in political circles as well as among regular citizens.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction will hold their protest at central Mumbai’s Shivaji Park in Dadar, a location connected to the Shiv Sena since its founding in 1966, while the dissident group led by Shinde has planned its event in the MMRDA field in the suburb of BKC.
The huge MMRDA site is next to “Matoshree”, the Thackeray family’s private mansion in Bandra.
Both sides have asserted that they are carrying on Bal Thackeray’s principles, who was known for giving vehement speeches at Dussehra rallies at Shivaji Park year after year until his passing in 2012.
Since then, his son, Uddhav Thackeray, a former chief minister who lost office in June as a result of a coup led by his hitherto dependable aide Eknath Shinde, has been speaking on the occasion.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Dussehra rally is being staged at Shivaji Park after a two-year hiatus.
Both sides have asserted that their rallies will be huge successes, with senior officials putting the finishing touches on the elaborate displays. The two venues’ immediate surroundings are covered in saffron flags and banners on the ground.
Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena, is anticipated to attack both the Shinde faction and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a former ally that is now a member of the state administration.
The chief minister would probably single out Uddhav Thackeray in his speech for “deviating” from Hindutva and collaborating with his former adversaries, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), to create the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration in November 2019.
The MVA government was overthrown by Mr. Shinde’s rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray’s rule in June of this year.
A top Mumbai Police official said that 3,200 officers, 15,200 employees, 1,500 members of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), 1,000 members of the Home Guard, 20 Quick Response Teams (QRTs), and 15 Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS) have all been deployed for the two rallies.
2,000 members of the Mumbai Police’s traffic section, as well as five to six DCPs and fifteen to sixteen ACPs, will be on duty at BKC. A spokesperson for the Shinde camp, Sheetal Mhatre, stated that the rally at the MMRDA ground is likely to draw between 3.5 and 4 lakh attendees.
For those travelling from outside the city, arrangements for food and parking have been made. A train has been reserved from Nanded city in central Maharashtra for the Dussehra rally, according to a railway official.
On Wednesday, in the late afternoon, the train that the Shinde faction reserved would pull into Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. The Shinde-led faction has reportedly hired at least 3,000 private buses from various districts of Maharashtra to transport its followers, according to bus operators.
Additionally, according to the sources, almost 4,000 tourist taxis will transport supporters to the MMRDA stadium.
700 buses have been reserved by the Thackeray group to transport rally attendees to Shivaji Park. The Thackeray group has reserved buses that, according to a bus operator, will mostly transport Sena members and sympathisers from the Mumbai Metropolitan Area (MMR).
In contrast, buses and other vehicles that the Shinde side has hired will come from different regions of Maharashtra.
Several rebel camp activists are driving their own vehicles to get to the event location.
A representative of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) told PTI that at least 1,700 state-run buses have been reserved in various parts of Maharashtra, adding that this will bring in more money for the organization.
Some state highways experienced traffic congestion due to the massive number of automobiles travelling in the direction of Mumbai.
The Mumbai traffic police have made the necessary plans so that many buses and other vehicles that will take workers to the protests will have a place to park.
