The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday approved Shiv Sena (Thackeray)'s plea to hold the annual Dussehra rally at iconic Shivaji Park, Mumbai. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena will organise its 57th Dussehra rally on October 24.
Earlier in a surprise turn of events, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on October 12 withdrew his petition filed at BMC to hold a Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park, saying he does not want any row on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra. Now, Shive Sena's faction of Shiv Sena will hold the Dussehra rally at Cross Oval Maidan, said the sources.
Shinde appealed to his party workers not to clash with the rival faction as the former chief minister gets people's sympathy, they added.
Sena vs Sena on Dussehra
In 2022, both factions moved BMC to get permission to hold the annual rally at the iconic park which is politically very significant and a symbol of political supremacy in Mumbai. However, Thackery received the permission to organise the mega event at Shivaji Park, while Shinde's Shiv Sena was allowed to organise the rally at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
Meanwhile, the rally by the Shinde's group last year drew criticism as Shiv Sena (Thackeray) mouthpiece 'Saamana' claimed that the Shinde camp must have spent Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore on the Dussehra rally held at the BKC, as nearly 2,000 buses were booked to ferry supporters and over two lakh people who attended the event were given food.
"The rally at the BKC was one of the BJP-backed events. The amount spent must have been the same used for buying a couple of MLAs. The event was like a fashion show and a beauty pageant," it said.
The two factions of the Shiv Sena held mega rallies on Dussehra evening in 2022 in Mumbai.
