Raj Thackeray with his wife SharmilaRaj Thackeray started his career with Shiv Sena under guidance of his uncle Bal Thackeray. In 1997 he started his career with the Shiv Sena Udyog Sena and tried to strengthen his overall political image as a youth leader.
He raised funds for the employment through various sources. A major of this was the concert of 1996 which were organized which starred pop icon Michael Jackson and Lata Mangasherkar.
These concerts asserted an image for the party and also propagated the Sena's popular culture that intrinsically was able to consolidate the party against the next generation.
Raj Thackeray emerged as one of themost influential leaders of Shiv Sena. He actually started functioning as the right hand of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.