After Maharashtra poll drubbing, Uddhav's Sena (UBT) drops 'return to Hindutva' hints
Shiv Sena (UBT) has dropped broad hints over the past few days of going back to its core Hindutva agenda after the drubbing the party received in the November 20 Maharashtra polls.
The party has mounted a strident attack on the Centre for atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the neighbouring country in August and has now come forward to «protect» an «80-year-old» Hanuman Temple outside Mumbai's Dadar station that was served a demolition notice by the railways.
Signalling its intent on the issue, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray performed 'maha aarti' at the temple amid efforts by the party to corner the ruling BJP on the Hindutva plank.
Earlier, on December 6, the party raised hackles of some allies when Uddhav Thackeray's close aide and MLC Milind Narvekar posted a photo of the Babri Masjid demolition on social media site X along with the combative «I am proud of those who did it» quote of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. The mosque in Ayodhya was brought down on December 6, 1992. The move rattled Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra chief Abu Azmi who said his outfit was walking out of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which also comprises the Congress and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) apart from Shiv Sena (UBT). Party insiders and observers said Narvekar would not have posted the laudatory message without knowledge of the leadership.
On Friday, Uddhav Thackeray had attacked the Union government over the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh and sought to
