Ritika
The city of Ambernath has always been a stronghold of Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, for the past 25 years. Recent developments have seen a shift in power dynamics when it comes to the members and functionaries of the Shiv Sena party. On Sunday night, MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of all the key functionaries who had been maintaining the status quo in Ambernath. This change in political allegiance was accompanied by the removal of photographs of Uddhav and Aditya Thackeray from the Ambernath Shiv Sena City Branch, sending shockwaves through the city and marking the biggest blow to the faction loyal to Uddhav Thackeray.
The Thackeray supporters of the Shiv Sena kept their distance from Chief Minister Shinde throughout, with city head Arvind Walekar, former city president and counsellor amongst many of the loyalists that stayed away from the rebellion. However, as the political situation gradually tilted toward Shinde, several Shiv Sainiks from the Walekar family and their supporters decided to join the new faction. It was during this same time that MP Shrikant Shinde made a visit to Ambernath to assess the preparations for an impending mandir art festival. During his visit, he assembled all the former municipal chairpersons, corporators and other office bearers and invited them to join the Shiv Sena alongside him.
The regional MLA Dr. Balaji Kinikar, whose district and city is largely dominated by the Shiv Sena, had been making huge efforts to retain the power of the party in the municipality, despite the rebellion of Chief Minister Shinde. In order to prevent any potential advantage to other political parties in the general municipal elections, the Chief Minister called both the MLA and city chief Arvind Walekar to his residence in Mumbai where both discussed the future of the Shiv Sena. Following this meeting, the Thackeray supporters accepted the Chief Minister’s decision and hence the faction of Shinde saw the addition of all the people mentioned above.
Overall, the political upheaval in Ambernath has sent shockwaves through the city, highlighting the need for all factions of the Shiv Sena to come together and present a unified front against any external threat. This incident is likely to leave long lasting effects on the politics of Ambernath and the surrounding districts.
