So now we are talking about this political group called Shiv Sena.
It started way back in 1966 and that full name means “Army of Shivaji” and we also call it SS for short.
It was one right-wing type party which followed that Marathi regionalism and Hindutva kind of thinking.
It was founded by Bal Thackeray who was originally a cartoonist.
Then later his son Uddhav Thackeray came and took charge after him.
The Big Party Split in 2022
Now what happened is in 2022 this Shiv Sena party broke into two parts.
One part is now led by Uddhav Thackeray and it is called Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and they are now using that torch symbol (Mashaal).
The other part is under Eknath Shinde and that side kept the original party name and also the old bow and arrow symbol.
Early Days and Government Support
But when this group started in 1966 then it was not really a political party.
It was just like some organisation.
And it got full support from the Chief Minister of that time Vasantrao Naik.
He used this group for controlling trade unions and making sure Congress stayed in full power.
So this group also started a strong nativist Marathi movement in Mumbai where they said Marathi people should get more preference than outsiders.
They were telling that jobs and benefits must go to locals first.
Trying to Expand Outside Maharashtra
Now even though Shiv Sena always worked mostly in Maharashtra they tried to spread the party to other parts of India also.
In the 1970s they started changing from only Marathi focus to a bigger Hindutva-based ideology.
They made friendship with BJP and started working together.
Shiv Sena was also always fighting in BMC (Mumbai’s municipal elections).
Then in 1989 they made full alliance with BJP for Lok Sabha and Maharashtra elections.
That friendship broke for some time in 2014 due to seat sharing fight but later they came back together.
Also they were part of that NDA alliance started by BJP in 1998 and they were in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government (1998–2004) and also in Narendra Modi’s government (2014–2019).
The 2019 Fallout with BJP
But then after the 2019 Maharashtra elections the big fight happened.
Shiv Sena got angry with BJP because of CM seat issue.
So under Uddhav Thackeray they joined hands with their old rivals Congress and NCP.
Then they formed the government without BJP.
After that in 2022 another political crisis happened and Shiv Sena broke into two parts.
Influence on Bollywood and Allegations
We must also know that Shiv Sena once had strong control over Bollywood and film industry.
But at same time people accused the party of being extremist, chauvinist, or even fascist.
How It All Started: A Look Back
After India got independence in 1947, the state borders were changed slowly based on languages.
Inside Bombay Presidency, people were fighting to get a new state for Marathi-speaking people.
So in 1960, the presidency got split into two states — Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Also some Marathi areas of old Hyderabad state joined Maharashtra.
Bombay became the capital of Maharashtra and was also India’s economic capital.
But in Bombay most businesses were run by Gujarati people.
And then lots of South Indians also came for white-collar jobs.
So Marathi people were feeling left out.
Role of Marmik Weekly and Birth of Shiv Sena
So in 1960 Bal Thackeray who was doing cartoons, started one weekly magazine called Marmik.
In that he started talking against outsiders.
On 19 June 1966, he founded Shiv Sena as a political group.
Young Marathi boys who did not have jobs liked his speeches and joined his group.
Then Shiv Sena workers started doing attacks on South Indian people, breaking their restaurants, and forcing employers to hire Marathi people only.
This group was not political in beginning.
But CM Vasantrao Naik gave them full support to control trade unions and help Congress.
Because of this connection some people even started calling it “Vasant Sena”.
Shiv Sena During Emergency and 1980s
Then in 1975, Shiv Sena supported that Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi.
In the 1977 elections, they also supported Congress.
In 1980 Maharashtra elections, Shiv Sena did not even contest but campaigned for Congress party.
Growing Friendship with BJP
In 1970s, that sons of the soil idea was becoming weak.
So Shiv Sena started talking more about Hindutva.
In 1984 elections, they made alliance with BJP for the first time.
Shiv Sena people even fought on BJP’s lotus symbol.
From 1989, they started full coalition with BJP for Lok Sabha and state elections.
From 1995 to 1999, Shiv Sena and BJP ruled Maharashtra together.
After that from 1999 to 2014, both were in opposition.
In 2014, again fight happened over seat sharing.
Both fought separately.
BJP won more seats.
Shiv Sena first sat in opposition.
Later joined government after talks.
Shiv Sena and BJP together also ruled the BMC.
Earlier Shiv Sena was strong in Mumbai and Konkan area.
But in 2004 elections, Shiv Sena lost Mumbai but gained in inner Maharashtra areas.
Formation of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)
In July 2005, Narayan Rane, ex-CM and big leader, got removed from the party.
Then in December, Raj Thackeray, Bal Thackeray’s nephew, also left Shiv Sena.
He started his own party and called it Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
This MNS also followed Bhumiputra ideology like Shiv Sena.
When Raj launched it in Shivaji Park, he said people want to know what will happen to Hindutva.
He promised that he will explain his thinking on Hindutva, development of Maharashtra, and meaning of flag colors in a big speech on 19 March.
Uddhav Thackeray Takes Over, But Balasaheb Still Like Big Boss
So that happened in 2004 when we saw Bal Thackeray’s own son Uddhav Thackeray becoming the head of the Shiv Sena party.
But still Balasaheb Thackeray was there like big boss and his image was still super powerful for the party people and public also.
Then when Bal Thackeray expired on 17 November 2012, after that Uddhav finally became the main party leader, but he said no to using the name “Shiv Sena Pramukh,” which actually means “Shiv Sena Supremo” in English.
So that title remained only for Balasaheb.
How Shiv Sena’s Ideas Started Changing Slowly
Now if we talk about the main thoughts or what we call ideology of Shiv Sena then that also changed a lot over the years.
When Bal Thackeray started the party then it was all about Marathi pride and local rights—that was called Marathi regionalism.
But later on slowly slowly the party started going more into ultranationalism and right-wing style politics.
Because of this shift they got closer with the BJP and formed alliance with them.
But when Uddhav Thackeray became the top boss of the party then he slowly pushed the party into something called composite nationalism.
So that time he made a new alliance with Congress and NCP which were totally opposite parties before.
This was big shift because Shiv Sena was always fighting against Congress and NCP from beginning.
2022 Crisis: Party Broke in Two Pieces
Main Article: 2022 Maharashtra Political Crisis
So that happened in June 2022 when one senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and most of the MLAs from Sena suddenly went to BJP’s side.
Then, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari told for trust vote in Assembly.
Later on Supreme Court of India said this whole thing looked like a “sad spectacle” and even political experts were not happy.
So before the no-confidence vote could happen Uddhav Thackeray left his Chief Minister post and also quit as MLC on 29 June 2022.
Then Eknath Shinde made new deal with BJP and became new Chief Minister on 30 June 2022.
After that, Uddhav Thackeray went to Supreme Court and said that Shinde and his group should be disqualified because of anti-defection law.
But Shinde told that he never defected but he is the real Shiv Sena now.
That court case is still going on.
Name Fight and Symbol Battle
So after the party split, Eknath Shinde went to Election Commission and said that he wants the real name “Shiv Sena” and the original Bow and Arrow symbol.
Then ECI gave that name and symbol to Shinde group, because their legislative team (MLAs and MPs) was bigger, even if their original party office people were fewer.
Uddhav Thackeray didn’t agree and filed a case in Supreme Court.
That case is also still going on.
Party Structure and Who Runs It
So in Shiv Sena, the main boss was called “Shiv Sena Pramukh,” which means Chief.
Bal Thackeray was the first one, and he made all final decisions.
Then the ground-level workers were called “Shiv Sainiks,” who did all work like meetings, protest, rally and voter mobilisation.
Then they made many small local branches called “Shakhas,” which means local units.
Each Shakha had around 25 to 50 people and they worked during elections, rallies and even community service.
There was also Yuva Sena (young wing), Mahila Aghadi (women’s wing), and also one group called Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti, which protected job rights of Marathi people.
Before 2022 rebellion, everything in the party was under Thackeray family only.
So all big posts were held by Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aditya Thackeray.
People from other parties kept saying Shiv Sena is just one family party.
Bal Thackeray never stood in elections but always controlled party like Godfather or kingmaker.
But then for first time, in 2019, Aditya stood in election and won MLA seat.
Then his father Uddhav also entered direct politics and became Chief Minister.
Aditya became tourism minister in his father’s government.
Caste Composition of Party Members
Inside the Sena, many different caste people worked together.
But top leaders mostly came from so-called high caste like Brahmins, Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu, and Pathare Prabhus.
Some examples are Thackeray, Manohar Joshi, Sudhir Joshi, and others.
Hemchandra Gupte was also there, he was once Mayor of Bombay, and close to Bal Thackeray, but later he left the party.
He said party was giving more value to money, violence, and also supported Indira Gandhi in 1975 emergency.
There were also leaders from other castes like Dattaji Salvi and Wamanrao Mahadik, and from lower castes like Chaggan Bhujbal, Leeladhar Dake, and Bhai Shingre.
Out of 12 top leaders in party, 8 were from high castes.
Only few were from Maratha, Shimpi, Agri, or Mali caste.
Bhujbal later left the party and said that Sena gave more preference to upper castes.
Still there were many Dalits also in the party.
Even when Sena opposed Mandal Commission’s reservation ideas, OBC percentage in party remained strong.
So somehow, Sena united all Maharashtrian people under one Marathi identity.
Their “sons of soil” slogan helped to bring all caste people under same umbrella.
Voter Base: Maratha Backbone
So if we look at how they won elections in 1980s and 1990s then most of power came from Maratha caste voters.
Earlier those voters were with Congress, but Sena took them.
Based on number of MLAs from Maratha caste, one University of Pune researcher said that Sena is slowly becoming a “Maratha Party”
Party Headquarters and Important Buildings
So Shivsena Bhavan is the party’s head office.
It is in Dadar, Mumbai, near Shivaji Park.
It was opened in 1977 and got repaired and reopened in 2006.
It has a big copper statue of Shivaji Maharaj and huge photo of Bal Thackeray.
In 1993 bomb blasts, one bomb exploded there and caused damage.
Another important building is “Matoshri”, the personal house of Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray.
All big meetings used to happen there.
It worked like the command centre of the party during Balasaheb and Uddhav’s time.
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