In the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance suffered a 0-6 rout in Mumbai, which was for long deemed a stronghold of the Shiv Sena. The Congress-NCP combine, which has for the past ten years run the worst government in Maharashtra’s history, should thank only one person for its spectacular success: Raj Thackeray. His Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), established only three years ago as a breakaway from the Shiv Sena, managed to snatch away a huge chunk of votes of the Marathi-speaking people. “I am simply stunned by the massive support that Raj has gained in the Marathi-speaking community,” said Kirit Somaiya, my party colleague in Mumbai, a Maharashtrian of Gujarati origin, who too was defeated despite his popularity as a crusader for many a worthy cause. “We in the BJP must study this phenomenon in-depth and objectively before we can chalk out a future strategy. There are deep-rooted social, economic and cultural factors that have made even staunch BJP-Shiv Sena supporters get attracted by Raj’s message.”

As a half-Kannadiga and half-Marathi who, after spending the longest period of his life in Mumbai, is now working out of Delhi, I have observed Raj Thackeray’s rise with both trepidation and curiosity. Trepidation, because I detest and reject his campaign against outsiders, North Indians in particular, believing that Mumbai belongs to all, just as India belongs to all. Curiosity, because I want to know why he is able to strike a sympathetic chord in Marathi Manoos (Marathi-speaking person) of all classes-from common job-seeking youth living in Mumbai’s sprawling slums to highly qualified professionals in business and finance. Marathi Manoos is as nationalistic as any you can find in India. Yet, today he is nursing a sense of hurt and injustice at being marginalised in Mumbai, which is making him assert his regional and linguistic identity.

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