Sena gets a new headquarters

MUMBAI:Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray inaugurated the refurbished Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar on Thursday evening. The day also happened to be the 46th birthday of Uddhav Thackeray, Bal Thackeray’s son and Shiv Sena’s executive president.

The party had engaged Shashi Prabhu as the main architect for Sena Bhavan, which has independent and swanky offices for Bal Thackeray, Uddhav, and other leaders. The five-storeyed Bhavan has a corporate look about it with a huge basement, five elevators and vertical parking system. It also has dedicated halls for information technology and offices for organisations affiliated to the Shiv Sena.

The old Sena Bhavan was constructed under the supervision of architect Gore in 1974. Apart from housing the Sena headquarters, the Bhavan also had offices for Sena affiliates. City-based Unity Constructions has built the new Bhavan at the same place. On the first floor, the Sena has installed a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Maharashtra icon and Shiv Sena’s deity.

The Sena Bhavan, which has seen the Sena’s graph rise over the last 40 years, was unveiled at a time when the Sena is passing through its toughest phase ever. Patriarch Bal Thackeray, close to 80, has withdrawn from the day-to-day stewardship of the Sena, handing the mantle to his son Uddhav.

However, Uddhav’s leadership has seen two powerful rebellions — first by Narayan Rane, who joined the Congress, and later by cousin Raj Thackeray, who has formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. It remains to be seen whether a new-look Sena Bhavan infuses some life into the demoralised Sena cadres.