Shivaji Park crowd roars paeans to ‘Sena’s Tiger’

Mumbai: Shivaji Park saw the surreal coming together of hordes of jubilant Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supporters and activists on Thursday as the curtains descended on a month-long political drama with the swearing-in ceremony chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday.

Slogans such as “Kon Ala Re Kon Aala Shiv Senecha Wagh Aala (Who has come forth? Shiv Sena’s tiger!)” and “Hi Takat Konachi, Shiv Senechya Vaghachi (Who is the strongest? The Shiv Sena’s tiger!)” rent the air as partymen from every corner of the state thronged the city’s iconic ground armed with the flags of their respective parties to witness the historic ascent of the three-party alliance government.

Dadar resident and a roadside shop owner Roh-ini Panvelkar said she was beside herself at the prospect of a Sena chief minister. “I am confident that he will implement good policies and decisions that will help single women,” she stated.

Donning a saffron muffler, cap and badge, Sena activist Mohammad Shakil Qureshi greeted people and posed for selfies with the common folk and partymen alike.

A few passers-by also stopped by out of curiosity. Arun Joshi, a Santacruz resident who works at the HDFC Dadar branch, arrived with his colleague Ritesh Kadam from Jogeshwari — both self-professed apolitical citizens — to catch a peek of the swearing-in ceremony. “We would have liked to join the crowd, but we were officially on duty. We just stopped by to see the people’s enthusiasm”.

Adil Pansare, a Congress supporter who works with a hotel chain, said that the ceremony was the fruit of NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s actions. He also said that the Sena’s Hindutva was totally different from the BJP’s. “We expect this government to put an end to farmers’ woes. It is great that the supporters of all three parties have come together, which could only be a good sign for the state.”

Hashmat Parkar, an NCP supporter, had come all the way from Khed, Ratnagiri. Carrying a placard praising Sharad Pawar, he handed out sweets at the ground “I am glad to be here today. Saheb will do justice to farmers and this government will toil for them,” he said.

Wearing a sandwich board with the words ‘Mi Mukhymantri Shetkari (I am a chief minister farmer)’, Baburao Shewale, a farmer, expressed confidence that Sharad Pawar's guidance would help reverse the agricultural crisis.

A Sophia College student Pooja Maitria said she expected the government to espouse a progressive and tolerant view. “This government should not omit chapters or references in our history books or impose a particular ideology like the previous government did. Let students learn history without any biases,” she said.