But his outbursts against migrants in general and Biharis in particular have revealed that he is yet to discard his Shiv Sena identity. And how can he? He still “worships” his uncle, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, imitates his words and gestures. He has steadfastly refused to speak a word against his “God, who is surrounded by selfish priests (read Uddhav and his coterie)”.

Raj has always acted as a clone of his uncle and has seldom lost an opportunity to drive home the point that he is the perfect replica of Thackeray Sr. Four years ago, when his bete noire, Uddhav, (after having been made the heir apparent) launched the ‘Me Mumbaikar’ campaign in Mumbai aimed at reaching out to non-Marathi residents of the metropolis, Raj (then in the Shiv Sena), played spoilsport. His supporters roughed up some north Indian youth who had come for job interviews with the Central Railway. Raj’s gesture immediately earned him the gratitude of the hardliners in the party and the ‘Me Mumbaikar’ campaign fizzled out.

After breaking away from the Shiv Sena and floating the MNS, Raj claimed that he had changed his colours. At the same time, he did not lose his old habit of shooting his mouth off, at times with embarrassing consequences. For instance, after the bomb blasts in Mumbai’s suburban trains last year, he warned lawyers against taking up cases defending the accused. That stance resulted in many lawyers challenging him on the ground that defending an accused is a professional requirement and a person is considered innocent until proved guilty — an argument Raj could not refute.

Recently, when Raj Thackeray used the occasion of the first anniversary of his party to warn Biharis “to behave”, he was once again attempting to play to the gallery. His outbursts evoked a round of applause — as expected — from his followers, and he probably thought that he would get away with it like his uncle had done on so many occasions earlier. But Raj Thackeray is not Bal Thackeray. Thackeray Sr has got away with controversial remarks largely because the Sena had the blessings of at least a section of Congress leaders who wished to curb the growth of the communists in Mumbai’s textile hub in the sixties and seventies. Such remarks have generally been ignored by Congress-controlled governments in Maharashtra apparently because of his sheer stature in state politics. He could have, at one stage, brought Mumbai to a halt on any issue of his choosing.

But Thackeray Sr, too, had his moments of embarrassment. He had to face court cases for inciting communal hatred in his electoral campaigns or for publishing defamatory stories in the Sena mouthpiece, Saamna. In 1999 he was even debarred from casting his vote or contesting any election for six years, after the Supreme Court indicted him for his provocative speeches.

Raj Thackeray, when he made his anti-Bihari remarks, had probably meant to target migrants in general. He certainly did not envisage the matter snowballing as it indeed did. Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam — and a former Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP — has even registered a criminal case against him. At a time when the all-encompassing constitutional principle that every Indian has the right to earn a livelihood in any part of the country is widely understood, Raj’s remarks smack of anachronism and chauvinism.

A clue to why Raj Thackeray chose to harp on this issue comes from the results of the recent civic polls in Mumbai. Remember that the Shiv Sena had managed to retain power in the Mumbai municipality on the basis of its aggressive Marathi agenda. Raj’s outbursts indicate that he believes he and the MNS would gain electorally, if he played the Marathi Manoos card more blatantly. In the process, the Shiv Sainik in his ‘secular’ clothing stands exposed. It also betrays the man’s impatience to emerge as Bal Thackeray II as quickly and effectively as possible.