Will Uddhav's vacation during Pahalgam attack, skipping all-party meet dent Sena UBT's image?

Mumbai: From Uddhav Thackeray's vacation during the Pahalgam attack to skipping a crucial all-party meeting, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has come under fire for its absence at the time of crisis, with partymen and political experts saying the public perception towards the opposition party has taken a hit.

According to Shiv Sena (UBT) sources, the Thackeray family have returned from their vacation.

Uddhav Thackeray was last seen in a public function on April 19 when he addressed the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, the labour union of the party.

His absence coincided with the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people lost their lives on April 22.

The Shiv Sena has latched on to this, and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and party chief Eknath Shinde on Thursday took a dig Thackeray, saying party leaders were vacationing in Europe while their workers were in a coma.

Shiv Sena party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora has been more critical.

"From sons of the soil to tourists of India'...how far the Thackerays have fallen. While bullets flew in #Pahalgam, they were vacationing in Europe," Deora had said in a post on X.

"Maharashtra needs warriors on duty, not part-time Netas on holiday," he quipped.

In another post on May 9, two days after India's retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack by striking strongholds of terrorist outfit strongholds, the Shiv Sena leader again tweeted, "Take UBT, for instance. Their hate for PM @narendramodi ji & DCM @mieknathshinde ji has turned into hate for India & Maharashtra." A Sena (UBT) MLA admitted that although taking a break was a personal matter, the optics do not play out well considering the timing.

"The family had gone on a vacation, and it would not be right to comment on it as it is a family matter. But yes, their long absence at such a time does not look good for the party," he said.

"We are not aware of the itinerary, but he (Thackeray) is now back in the country," a party official said.

Notably, Shinde left for Jammu and Kashmir after the Pahalgam attack to facilitate the return of tourists from Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sena, on its part, had also arranged special flights for the purpose, and the deputy chief minister met families who lost their loved ones in the terror attack.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), on the other hand, missed a crucial all-party meeting after the attack.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant first stated that he and party MP Sanjay Raut skipped the meeting as they were part of parliamentary committees and were travelling at that time.

Raut then claimed the Sena (UBT) skipped the all-party meeting because his party would have sought Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation, which would have embarrassed the opposition allies.

Before attending the all-party meeting after India launched 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan, Raut said they did not attend the last all-party meeting because they wanted concrete action from the government.

The Sena (UBT) did attend the all-party meeting after India's retaliation on May 7.

Political analyst Abhay Deshpande said optics-wise, Thackeray's absence does not look good.

He should have come back after the Pahalgam attack. Being a major partner of the INDIA bloc, the Sena (UBT) should have attended the all-party meeting, but it skipped.

Political analyst Hemant Desai said the undivided Shiv Sena was known to play a proactive role during crises in the past.

He said the Thackerays should have cut short their trip. This does not look good for optics.

Desai said, "When the Sena UBT attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Pahalgam attack, what were its leaders doing?" He said if the top leaders are vacationing, it does not mean the party itself is on leave.

It did not protest the way the undivided Shiv Sena used to in the past.

While there was no comment from Thackeray himself after the Pahalgam attack, he did issue a statement on May 7 after India launched Operation Sindoor.

However, Aaditya Thackeray tweeted about the Pahalgam attack, India's retaliation and other developments in the state.

In the coming week, Thackeray is expected to make a public appearance. Raut said he has been Thackeray will be present for his book launch event on May 17 along with NCP SP Sharad Pawar.