Balasaheb has served a notice to the BJP. The attack on the so-called ‘Modi pattern’ is a ruse. In fact, this is not a new tactic. The Shiv Sena threatened the alliance with the BJP six months ago when it openly supported Pratibha Patil for the post of president. The Sena will lose its very raison d’etre if it allows any other identity to override the idea of ‘Marathi Manoos’.

It is not generally recognised that when the state of Maharashtra was carved out, the principal socio-cultural contradiction in Mumbai was between the Marathi and Gujarati community. The Gujarati community was perceived as the business class and the Marathi people were the proletariat. The Gujaratis were seen as rich and the Marathis as poor or middle class. The Marathi people fought for the creation of Maharashtra as a separate state with Mumbai as its capital, while the Gujaratis, led primarily by the maverick Morarji Desai, wanted the metropolis as a bi-lingual state.

That contradiction continues even today. The Marathi people have that characteristic diffidence, bordering on the inferiority complex, while dealing with the Gujaratis. Balasaheb Thackeray belongs to that generation. He turned 81 last week and when he spoke of the so-called ‘Modi pattern’ with a sort of contempt, he was merely manifesting a decades-old resentment.

This socio-cultural divide has always reflected in election campaigns. The BJP and the Sena, despite their alliance, have hardly ever campaigned together. It is an alliance only for the legislative numbers game. After the grand victory in Gujarat, the BJP had started to subtly campaign for a greater seat share in the elections for the assembly as well as for Lok Sabha. Balasaheb knows that the BJP cannot come to power without Sena support. No wonder the Sena is preparing for getting its pound of flesh.

... contd.