Poster art in Mumbai speaks lots louder than any leader’s rhetoric in Mumbai, and if one reads the iconography that has sprung up right here like wild bloom in the monsoon rain, the message is loud and clean: Anand Dighe, a Sena leader from Thane who died in 2001, has come to be the new poster boy within the Sena pantheon, in places even overshadowing birthday celebration founder Balasaheb Thackeray
Poster art in Mumbai speaks an awful lot louder than any leader’s rhetoric in Mumbai, and if one reads the iconography that has sprung up here like wild bloom inside the monsoon rain, the message is loud and clean: Anand Dighe, a Sena chief from Thane who died in 2001, has come to be the brand new poster boy in the Sena pantheon, in places even overshadowing birthday party founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
The purpose for Dighe resurrection for that reason isn’t a ways to are looking for. He become Eknath Shinde’s mentor, beginning all doors for his meteoric upward thrust from auto rickshaw motive force to all-effective minister. Dighe who embodied the concept of a tough-center Sainik changed into a professional organiser, and built the birthday celebration up from scratch in the Thane-Dombivali and Kalyan belt. Under his leadership this whole location have become a Shiv Sena bastion as he groomed a sturdy second-rung of management, consisting of Eknath Shinde. Dighe’s competitive emblem of politics and his uncompromising loyalty to the birthday celebration brought about his arrest in reference to the murder of Mohan Khopkar, a Shiv Sena corporator who had voted against the celebration’s candidate in mayoral election in Thane town which led to Sena losing the equal. After the loss Dighe declared that folks that had betrayed the celebration might now not be spared. Khopkar changed into murdered shortly after Dighe’s exhortation and Dighe became booked below Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. Dighe however obtained a groundswell of support with Shiv Sena alleging a witch-hunting by the then Congress authorities in the nation.
His recognition handiest grew after his release from prison and caused his entire domination of politics in the district till his loss of life from a cardiac arrest following an accident wherein his car became crushed with the aid of a truck coming from the opposite direction in 2001. His following among Sainiks was such that they ransacked the Singhania Hospital in Thane in which he were taken. Several top Sena leaders including Uddhav Thackeray had to be moved out of Thane to prevent any untoward incident as Sena workers went berserk.
“Even two decades after his death, Dighe nevertheless remains a charismatic figure in Thane metropolis and the district with a extensive phase of Sena employees who see him as a demigod,” says senior journalist Milind Ballal who knew Dighe closely. “He ran a difficult and ready justice gadget for the poor who had been not entertained with the aid of government, he mentored scores of party employees and it’s no surprise that Eknath Shinde invokes his name as he rebels against the birthday party,” says Ballal. While Eknath Shinde can also swear allegiance to Bal Thackeray, Uddhav will continually have a extra claim at the legacy of the Sena founder. That’s no longer the case with Dighe and Eknath Shinde became truly mentored by him so its clean to capitalise on that relationship. It changed into Shinde who had a key function in the production of a biopic on Dighe that launched a few weeks ago which prepared the ground for a renewed hobby in Dighe’s lifestyles.
When he changed into alive, Dighe’s growing reputation had created some unease for the SEna pinnacle leadership mainly given the talk that Dighe could be proper person to steer Shiv Sena after Balasaheb Thackeray. If not him, his protégé now stakes a extreme declare to the Sena mantle.