Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, will this evening step onto the same stage for the first time in twenty years, transforming south Mumbai’s NSCI Dome into a theatre of Marathi assertion, and political recalibration.
Titled ‘Awaj Marathicha’ (Voice of the Marathi), the joint rally was conceived after the Mahayuti government quietly withdrew its plan to impose Hindi as a compulsory third language in primary schools. The cousins, backed by academics and cultural figures, spearheaded the backlash that forced the retreat.
Party organisers have turned Worli into a carnival of saffron banners and towering LED screens. Inside the 8,000‑seat Dome, a map of Maharashtra forms the backdrop; outside, pavements bristle with additional screens and temporary pavilions. “We have erected a grand stage with the map of Maharashtra in the background, headlined ‘Awaj Marathicha’,” MNS leader Yashwant Killedar said. “We expect people to come spontaneously. Traffic on Annie Besant Road may have to be stopped.”
A human pyramid by the Jai Jawan Govinda Mandal will punctuate the cultural prelude, anchored by film‑maker Ajit Bhure. Local units have been ordered to beam proceedings live, while social‑media teasers cast the two leaders as lions fending off hyenas, a swipe at the ruling alliance.
Political circles already read the spectacle as a curtain‑raiser to municipal and zilla parishad elections due later this year. “Though the rally is for the cause of Marathi, it could be the beginning of a renewed alliance between the cousins ahead of the local body polls,” observed Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar.
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Allied parties are lining up to endorse the moment. Vinayak Raut of Sena (UBT) said supporters were travelling from “across Maharashtra to see the two brothers together”. Leaders such as Jayant Patil (NCP‑SP) and representatives of CPI and CPM are expected on stage. Veterans Sharad Pawar and Harshwardhan Sapkal will send deputies, allowing the Thackerays a freer spotlight.
Preparation has been meticulous. Sena’s Anil Parab and MNS’s Bala Nandgaonkar oversaw logistics through the week, coordinating volunteers to man crowd control, sound and emergency medical posts. Banners plastered across Lalbaug, Parel, Dadar, Worli, and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region declare: “Unity of the Marathi people is the need of the time and real strength for us.”
Whether ‘Awaj Marathicha’ becomes a one‑off tableau or the first act of a durable family pact will depend on chemistry as much as arithmetic. Yet, this evening, the very sight of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray on the same dais will echo far beyond Worli, a reminder that in Maharashtra politics, blood ties can re‑ignite as swiftly as they once cooled.
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