The cause of Marathi Manoos has been at the crux of Mumbai’s politics for decades. A strong sense of lingual identity amongst the Marathi speaking native population against the demographic and social fabric of the city undergoing constant changes over decades has dictated the politics of the city to a great extent. This vibrant yet complicated contrast that defines the City of Dreams gave birth to many fascinating ideas, the most prominent one being the birth of Shiv Sena during the 1960s.

Shiv Sena as a political force came with a promise of espousing the cause of the Bhumiputra, the Marathi Manoos who felt largely sidelined due to an influx of migrants arriving in Mumbai in search of greener pastures. Balasaheb Thackeray, the patriarch of Shiv Sena became a magnet to which the Marathi youth got instantly attracted. However, with changing times, Shiv Sena shifted its focus from its core issue and started speaking out vocally about the larger idea of Hindutva. On the electoral front, this culminated into an alliance between the Sena and the BJP which led to both the parties collectively contesting the 1984 Lok Sabha elections.

Thus, resorting to the larger Hindutva cause also helped Sena spread its voter base beyond its conventional stronghold. This largely remained the party ideology till Balasaheb’s death in 2012 after which things started seeing a change under Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership. Balasaheb’s son being the chosen successor of the dynastical party had already caused quite a turmoil within the party ranks. Balasaheb’s nephew Raj Thackeray being colossally upset over this decision resulted in his walking out and establishing MNS– Maharashtra Navanirman Sena in 2006.

MNS strongly associated itself with the original cause of Shiv Sena, the Marathi Manoos identity, with an attempt to capitalise on the political void that Sena’s shift towards Hindutva had created in the state. This also created a strong nostalgia value in favor of the MNS with many comparing Raj to the fiery Balasaheb of his youth resulting in an impressive debut for the new party. MNS went on to win 13 seats in the first ever assembly elections it fought in 2009.

The party ate straight into Sena’s vote share further fuelling the caustic rivalry between the cousins. On the other hand, Shiv Sena under Uddhav’s leadership saw itself drifting away from the ideals that Balasaheb stood for. The 2019 Assembly elections were fought by the BJP and the Shiv Sena collectively. With people’s mandate favouring the alliance, the combined parties crossed the majority mark with BJP as a single entity securing almost double the seats as Shiv Sena. However, Thackeray’s ambitions to become the Chief Minister led to Shiv Sena making an ethically questionable decision of opting out of a pre-poll alliance and teaming up with parties that it originally contested against.

Many viewed this as a straight rejection of people’s mandate. Post swearing in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Thackeray attempted a makeover in order to give a new, secular face to Shiv Sena. He started speaking of ‘Inclusive Hindutva’ and increasingly reached out to Muslims for electoral gains. This did not go well with the existing voter base of the party, so much so that Balasaheb’s son had to come out and assure the voters that he would never give up on Hindutva.

These erratic changes in the party thought also meant that Shiv Sena’s traditional image as the custodian of Hindu interests no longer remained intact and its original cause of standing up for the rights of Marathi Manoos was lost in the process. Though Thackeray made occasional attempts to invoke inclusive sentiments by reaching out to Marathi Muslims, these attempts largely left Mumbaikars feeling confused and disappointed.

As an outcome of this disappointment prevalent in the party ranks, Shiv Sena faced a rebellion under the leadership of Eknath Shinde who took away with him the party leadership, name, and symbol. This left Uddhav Thackeray in the custody of the party that remained which was named as Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). Thackeray further chose to contest elections as a part of the INDI Alliance with other parties whose mere existence he had vehemently opposed since decades over sharp ideological incompatibilities.

The series of ideologically misaligned decisions continued as Uddhav Thackeray was recently seen sharing the stage with his estranged cousin Raj with whom he has shared a bitter relationship since the grand Shiv Sena split. The cousins were seen coming together to celebrate the ‘triumph of Marathi Unity’ as the Maharashtra Government rolled back Hindi as an optional third language. Uddhav further went on to say that they have come together and will stay together.

Following this event, speculation is rife as the stage is set for the upcoming BMC elections in Mumbai. With a whopping budget of over ₹74,000 crore, the BMC has more financial resources than several Bharatiya states. Thus, securing a larger share in the pie is in everybody’s list of priorities. With the elections round the corner, sentimental issues will be brought back in an attempt to woo the Marathi Manoos. Decades old promises will resurface.

However, the reality suggests that the on-ground issues of the native Mumbaikars have only grown more serious over the years. The primary concern, the gradual displacement of the native population, is turning into a reality as the Marathi speaking population of the city is dwindling. Therefore, if Marathi Manoos is really on the agenda of the many political parties in the state or is just another convenient electoral issue that is brought up time and again on a need basis is a question that the voters will have to answer.