Thane's changing its stripes

THANE: Baalekilla means stronghold or fortress in Marathi. The city of Thane has for decades been described by Shiv Sainiks as their Baalekilla, as it has often been taken for granted for being their very own turf. Martial terminology comes easy to the party whose bandhs and strikes have always received unwavering support from the local population.

Shops in Thane are among the first to shut down for any affront to the Sena dignity, be it the alleged desecration of Meenatai Thackeray’s statue at Dadar or the removal of Balasaheb’s pictures in Parel. When the slight is more severe, hospitals are burnt and trains stoned.

For shopkeepers, the sight of local hoods with saffron bandannas is enough to bring back memories of the Bhiwandi riots in 1970s when properties belonging to the minority community were destroyed.

Thane’s largely Maharashtrian middle-class and the less affluent sections have supported the Sena and the BJP in the local and national elections during these years. The alliance has had an uninterrupted run in the Thane Municipal Corporation for 14 years. But the party is today under siege.

The breach in the Shiv Sena’s control over the city is on many fronts. Probably, the most important change is the demography in the city. Thane has been going thorough a residential boom that has changed its composition significantly.

It’s now much more cosmopolitan with a population that is more demanding and vocal about its needs from its corporators and is not necessarily Marathi-speaking. The second change at the political level is an outcome of how the party has been defanged by the exit of Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray.

Rapid inroads are being made by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) in the city. Recognising the importance of a victory in Thane, he has held several large rallies in the city in the past one year. He also paid obeisance to Anand Dighe, the local Shiv Sena warlord who died a few years ago.

“Rapid urbanisation has made things worse for the city because the current infrastructure is simply insufficient,” admits long-time Thane resident and BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar. The population has grown to almost 17 lakh and this will only go up in the coming years, he says. He says the Sena-BJP alliance at the municipal level has failed to deliver because it got no support from the state and Central governments.

Retorts the media-savvy NCP corporator Pratap Sarnaik: “The alliance has simply failed to deliver.” Fundamental urban issues such as water supply and congestion around the railway station have been allowed to keep getting worse, he says. If the population has grown, so have TMC’s revenues — the corporation’s budget is now at about Rs 580 crore.

Mr Sarnaik grabbed headlines earlier this year by fishing in the huge potholes on the city roads. The chances of combating the BJP-Sena will be brighter if the NCP and the Congress come to some sort of arrangement on seat sharing, he stressed.

As far as civic infrastructure goes, Thane is still trying to live up to the benchmark set by the former commissioner TS Chandrasekhar, who changed the complexion of the city with a civic revolution that no one else has been able to match. Political parties, sensing some mileage, are out to take credit to his legacy.

As for the Shiv Sena, it’s now responding to the situation in a way that it knows best as Shishir Shinde, a former Sena leader now with the MNS, found out last week. Mr Shinde was roughed up at a public meeting by Shiv Sainiks because he dared criticise his former party. As news about the attack spread, hundreds of MNS representatives gathered around the area and took on the Sainiks leading to a free for all.

Despite its posturing, the Shiv Sena appears to be worried about its future as it has decided to bank on party chief Bal Thackeray despite his failing health. The Sena supremo is expected to address a rally in the city to prop up the local cadre. Supporters are also rallying together with the party’s working president Udhav Thackeray, who was in Thane over the weekend to release a CD with songs eulogising the party.

Mr Kelkar is of the view that the problems can be sorted out by better handling of the issues at hand. If elected back, he offers radical changes. He has planned a 24-hour call-centre to handle citizen complaints at the TMC. The city is currently facing a 3-hour power cut daily.

“This can be tackled by a BOT thermal power project built for local demand,” he says. Congestion problems around the railway station, he promises, can be eased by a flyover built up to the centre of the city and better public transport. Mr Kelkar and his team are all set to hit the campaign trail beginning this week, in what will probably be one of the most difficult elections in recent times. It remains to be seen whether the public takes his bait.