Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Eknath Shinde faces mentor Dharmaveer Anand Dighe's nephew Kedar in Thane bastion

Thane: As one passes through Thane, huge banners, posters and cutouts with photos of late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and late firebrand leader ‘Dharmaveer’ Anand Dighe welcomes people.

These posters also carry photos of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is now the chief leader of Shiv Sena having dislodged Balasaheb's son Uddhav Thackeray, who now heads Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

The hustling-bustling Thane adjoins the financial capital Mumbai.

People here are often referred to as Thanekars.

Dighe (January 27, 1951 - August 26, 2001) was one of Balasaheb’s closest aides and called the shots in the Palghar-Thane-Raigad belt.

Dighe, who remained a bachelor, died, aged 50, because of a heart-attack after a road accident.

The Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat of Thane is up for an interesting battle of votes.

Shinde, popularly known as Bhai, is Anand Dighe’s protégé.

A four-time MLA, Shinde would contest his traditional seat of Kopri-Pachpakhadi.

However, Thackeray does not want the seat to go unchallenged and has fielded Kedar Dighe, the Thane district Shiv Sena chief and late Anand Dighe’s nephew from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi seat.

“By putting up Anand Dighe's nephew as its candidate against Eknath Shinde, Uddhav Thackeray has infused interest into what would have been a one-sided contest in the Chief Minister's home constituency. The Sena (UBT) will definitely try to whip up sympathy for Kedar Dighe in the name of his late uncle. But, Kedar Dighe is not a known face in Thane. On the contrary, Shinde has been claiming right from day one that he is the real inheritor of Dighe's legacy. Shinde is popular in Thane. People would rather support Shinde even if they feel that he may not return as the Chief Minister after the polls than going with untested Kedar," said veteran journalist and political analyst T N Raghunatha, who has been living in Thane City for more than three decades now.

Two biographical films on Anand Dighe — Dharmaveer: Mukkam Post Thane’, released on 13 May, 2022 and its sequel Dharmaveer 2: Mukkam Post Thane, released 27 September, 2024, have generated a lot of interest about the firebrand leader among the younger generations.

While one was released just before the June-July 2022 rebellion in Shiv Sena, another was released just ahead of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.

Shinde’s close aide Naresh Mhaske represents Thane seat in Lok Sabha while his son Dr Shrikant Shinde represents neighbouring Kalyan seat.

“We would unfurl saffron and make Shinde Saheb, the Chief Minister, again,” said Mhaske, a former Thane Mayor, when he was with the undivided Shiv Sena.

“There is nothing to be worried out…I have tremendous faith in the people of Thane,” said Dighe.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.