IN Mumbai’s twin city, another bursting-at-its-seams megapolis, Thane, a departed leader’s legacy is at the heart of an interesting electoral face-off.
Photos of the brooding-eyed and bearded Anand Dighe, a former Sena strongman, stare from rival poll banners featuring both Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the current head of the ‘original’ Shiv Sena, and his main electoral contender, Kedar, Dighe’s 44-year-old nephew, who is contesting from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction.
The two are vying for control of the Kopari-Pachpakhadi constituency, a traditional stronghold of middle-class Maharashtrian families, including residents of old gaothan areas, emerging high-rises, and slum settlements—and, of course, for Dighe’s political legacy. Dighe was a guru and Shinde his bhakt, while Kedar is eager to tap into his late uncle’s social and political legacy.
“I don’t need to release two movies to showcase my relationship with Dighe saheb. He is my uncle and I’ve performed his last rites,” Kedar (42) says, mentioning Dighe’s untimely death in 2001. The legacy of the late Anand Dighe has taken centre-stage in Marathi cinema over the past few years, marked by the release of a two-part biopic. The first film, Dharmaveer, released in 2022 just before Shinde’s rebellion from the Shiv Sena, was followed by its sequel, Dharmaveer: Mukkam Post Thane, launched ahead of the upcoming assembly polls. Both films depict Dighe’s life journey and position Shinde as his rightful political heir.
“Shinde may claim to be Dighe’s political heir, but this decision has to be made by the people,” Kedar remarks, adding that the CM has been misusing Dighe’s name and photos in order to promote himself.
Denne historien er fra December 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra December 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Love in Bombay
In a city continuously grappling for space, lovers have found their own pockets of expression jostling against one another
Unscripted Moments
Street photography is all about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, one candid moment at a time
Sambhal Files
An engineered silence weighs heavily on the stillness of the empty streets in the centuries-old town of Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, where clashes with police over yet another 'mandir-masjid' dispute led to the deaths of local Muslim men
A State of Difference
What is about the Adivasis of Jharkhand that prevents the saffron lotus from blooming or even taking root, unlike in the Adivasi-majority seats of Chhattisgarh and Odisha where the BJP did exceedingly well in the past few years?
BJP Trumps Thackeray's Sena
The tables have turned on the original harbingers of communal politics in Maharashtra
Verses of Witnessing
The most imaginative chronicles of Mumbai's \"spirit\" come to us from the city's poets
Walking Through the Homes
Chandni Chowk is being usurped by a redevelopment model that will wipe out its unique blend of history, culture and commerce
Cost of Living, Price of Loving
In Mumbai's Kamathipura, the business of sex fails to keep up with the profits of real estate
A Taste of History
A delectable food walk in Old Delhi uncovers layers of history
Dramatis Personae
Comparing an actor's struggles in Delhi and Mumbai maps out the differing cultures of two disparate cities
