Wikipedia

Uddhav Thackeray

Uddhav Bal Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: [ud̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː], born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra[3][4][5][6] from 2019 to 2022 and the Leader of the House, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 2019 to 2022. He is a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council since 2020, the president of Maha Vikas Aghadi since 2019 and the president of Shiv Sena (UBT) since 2022. He was also the leader (pramukh) of Shiv Sena from 2013 to 2022, working President from 2003 to 2013 and the editor-in-chief of Saamana from 2006 to 2019.[7]

Uddhav Thackeray
Thackeray in 2020
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 May 2020
Chairman of the House
ConstituencyElected by MLAs
19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra[a]
In office
28 November 2019 – 29 June 2022
Governor
Preceded byDevendra Fadnavis
Succeeded byEknath Shinde
Leader of the House of the
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office
28 November 2019 – 29 June 2022
GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari
Speaker of the House
Deputy LeaderAjit Pawar
Preceded byDevendra Fadnavis
Succeeded byEknath Shinde
Leader (Paksha Pramukh) of Shiv Sena
In office
23 January 2013 – 10 October 2022
Preceded byBal Thackeray (as Pramukh)
Succeeded byEknath Shinde
President of Maha Vikas Aghadi
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 November 2019
ChairpersonSharad Pawar
SecretaryBalasaheb Thorat
Preceded byposition established
Editor-in-chief of Saamana
In office
20 June 2006 – 28 November 2019
Preceded byBal Thackeray
Succeeded byRashmi Thackeray
President of Shiv Sena (UBT)
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 October 2022
Preceded byposition established
Working President of Shiv Sena
In office
2003-2013
PresidentBal Thackeray
Preceded byposition established
Personal details
Born
Uddhav Bal Thackeray[2]

(1960-07-27) 27 July 1960 (age 64)[3]
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Political partyShiv Sena (UBT) (2022-present)
Other political
affiliations		Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (2023-present)
Shiv Sena (2006-2022)
National Democratic Alliance (2012-2019)
Spouse
​
(m. 1989)​
Children2, including Aaditya Thackeray
Parent
RelativesSee Thackeray Family
Residence(s)Matoshree Bungalow, Bandra East, South Mumbai, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Alma materSir J.J. Institute of Applied Art
OccupationPolitician

Early life

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Uddhav Bal Thackeray was born in a Marathi family on 27 July 1960 as the youngest of politician Bal Thackeray and his wife Meena Thackeray's three sons.[3][8][9] He did his schooling from Balmohan Vidyamandir and graduated from Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art with photography as his main subject.[10]

Political career

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In 2002, Thackeray started his political career as campaign incharge of Shiv Sena in the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections where the party performed well. In 2003, he was appointed as working president of Shiv Sena. Uddhav took over as chief editor of party mouthpiece Saamana (a daily Marathi-language newspaper published by Shiv Sena) in 2006 and resigned in 2019 before becoming chief minister of Maharashtra.[11]

A split in Shiv Sena happened when his cousin Raj Thackeray left the party in 2006 to form his own party named Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.[12] After the death of his father Bal Thackeray in 2012, he led the party and was elected as Shiv Sena president in 2013, and under his leadership Shiv Sena joined the NDA government in Maharashtra in 2014.[13]

In 2019, Shiv Sena broke away with NDA and joined UPA. It formed a sub alliance called Maha Vikas Aghadi to form the government in Maharashtra with Uddhav Thackeray leading the ministry.[14]

In 2022, during a party meeting, Uddhav Thackeray explained his move to pull out of NDA to join UPA. "We supported the BJP wholeheartedly to enable them to fulfill their national ambitions. The understanding was they will go national while we will lead in Maharashtra. But we were betrayed and attempts were made to destroy us in our home. So we had to hit back". Thackeray accused BJP of dumping its allies according to its political convenience. He said, "BJP doesn't mean Hindutva. I stand by my comment that Shiv Sena had wasted 25 years in alliance with BJP."[14]

Chief Minister of Maharashtra

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Though Thackeray never took any constitutional post in his political career initially, however after a brief political crisis, on 28 November 2019 he took the oath as 18th Chief minister of Maharashtra after being elected as the president of the newly formed post-poll coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi.[4][5][15][16]

In a 2021 Prashnam Survey, Thackeray was ranked the most popular Chief Minister in India out of 13 states, with nearly half of all voters surveyed said that they will vote for him again.[17]

Thackeray has committed Maharashtra to leading the effort against climate change, as the state considers a radical plan to deregister vehicles that run on diesel or petrol by 2030.[18] He plans for the city of Mumbai to become a climate-resilient metropolis which is carbon-neutral by 2050, which is 20 years before India's target for carbon neutrality.[18]

Following a rebellion within his party and resulting political crisis on 29 June 2022, Thackeray resigned from the post of Chief Minister of Maharashtra ahead of a floor test ordered by governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Thackeray challenged the order in the Supreme Court of India citing the pending disqualification motion of the rebel MLAs, but the Supreme Court refused to stay the floor test.[6]

Loss of Control over Shiv Sena Party

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Uddhav Thackeray took over as the leader of Shiv Sena in 2012 after his father, Bal Thackeray, died. However, in recent years, his leadership of the party has been challenged. After Eknath Shinde established the government in Maharashtra, he began using the Shiv Sena name and symbols without Uddhav Thackeray, leading to a leadership dispute within the party. Despite challenging this in court and before the Election Commission of India, Uddhav Thackeray's faction was ultimately unsuccessful in its bid to maintain control over the party, as the commission recognised Eknath Shinde's faction as the legitimate Shiv Sena party.[19]

Change in bylaws

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The Election Commission of India mandates that every political party follows a democratic process. In 2018, Uddhav Thackeray oversaw changes to the Shiv Sena party constitution that were criticised for centralising control of the party and not allowing for free, fair, and transparent elections for party positions. The Election Commission of India deemed these amendments undemocratic, further eroding Uddhav Thackeray's control over the party.[20]

Eknath Shinde's challenge and takeover

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More recently, Uddhav Thackeray faced a significant challenge to his leadership when Eknath Shinde, a key member of the party, called for breaking the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and re-establishing an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Despite gathering support from two-thirds of his party members, Uddhav Thackeray ignored their requests, leading to a political crisis that resulted in his resignation as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Through a legal battle, Eknath Shinde claimed that he had the support of the majority of Shiv Sena members, and the Election Commission of India recognised his faction as the legitimate Shiv Sena party, effectively granting him control over the party.[21]

Personal life

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Thackeray has always had a keen interest in photography and has exhibited his collection of aerial shots of various forts of Maharashtra at the Jehangir Art Gallery in 2004.[22][23] He has also taken photographs of wildlife including those of the Kanha, Gir, Ranthambore, Bharatpur national parks. Due to these experiences he named his first photography exhibition in 1999 as "Live and Let Live".[24] He has also published photo-books Maharashtra Desh (2010)[25] and Pahava Vitthal (2011), capturing various aspects of Maharashtra and the warkaris during Pandharpur Wari respectively in the two books.[26][27]

On 16 July 2012, Thackeray was admitted to Lilavati Hospital after he reported chest pain. He underwent an angioplasty and all the three blockages in his arteries were successfully removed.[28] On 12 November 2021, he underwent a cervical spine surgery at the HN Reliance Hospital.[29][30]

Family

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Thackeray is married to Rashmi Thackeray and has two sons, Aaditya and Tejas.[31]

Rashmi Thackeray (née Patankar) is the editor of Saamana and Marmik. She is the daughter of Madhav Patankar who runs his family business and comes from a middle-class family and also a RSS member. She lived in suburban Dombivli and did her Bachelor of Commerce degree from V G Vaze College in Mulund. She joined the Life Insurance Corporation of India as a contract employee in 1987. She became the friend of Raj Thackeray 's sister Jaywanti and through her came into contact with Uddhav Thackeray. Later they got married in 1989.[32][33][34]

The elder son Aaditya is the president of the Yuva Sena. He was served as Cabinet Minister of Tourism and Environment Government of Maharashtra.[35] Younger son Tejas is an Indian conservationist and wildlife researcher.[31]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ As Chief Minister, Thackeray directly handled portfolios for General Administration, Law and the Judiciary, Information and Public Relations, Information Technologies, and any other departments not allocated to another minister.[1]

References

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  1. ^ "Maharashtra: NCP gets Home, Finance as Uddhav allocates portfolios". The New Indian Express. 5 January 2020. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Uddhav Thackeray, first of his clan, takes oath as chief minister of Maharashtra". India Today. 28 November 2019. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Up close and personal with Uddhav Thackeray". Rediff.com. 22 April 2004. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Maharashtra swearing-in HIGHLIGHTS: Farmers first; Uddhav sets priority after first cabinet meet". The Indian Express. 28 November 2019. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Uddhav Thackeray sworn in as 19th CM of Maharashtra: First of family to hold this office, 59-yr-old gets kudos from Modi, Sonia Gandhi". Firstpost. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  6. ^ a b Rawal, Swapnil (29 June 2022). "Uddhav Thackeray resigns as Maharashtra chief minister hours ahead of trust vote". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Shiv Sena backs Sharad Pawar as UPA chief, calls him 'Bhishmapitamaha'". Hindustan Times. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Uddhav Thackeray Oath Ceremony : उद्धव ठाकरे बने महाराष्ट्र के CM, छह कैबिनेट मंत्रियों ने भी ली शपथ". NDTVIndia (in Hindi). 28 November 2019. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  9. ^ Prakash, Gyan (17 November 2012). "Bal Thackeray: The original angry young man". Mint. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Uddhav Thackeray sworn in as the 18th chief minister of Maharashtra". The Economic Times. 28 November 2019. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  11. ^ Joshi, Sahil (28 November 2019). "Uddhav Thackeray quits as Saamana editor ahead of taking over as Maharashtra chief minister". India Today. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  12. ^ "How A Murder Case Led To Raj Thackeray's Exit From Shiv Sena". HuffPost India. 25 September 2019. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Maharashtra government formation news". Times of India. 22 April 2004. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  14. ^ a b ""Wasted 25 Years In Alliance With BJP...," Says Uddhav Thackeray". NDTV.com. 23 January 2022. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Maharashtra News Live: CM Uddhav Thackeray to take charge of his office today". The Times of India. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  16. ^ Deshpande, Tanvi (26 November 2019). "Maharashtra politics: Uddhav Thackeray will be CM for full five years, says Sanjay Raut". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  17. ^ Jain, Rajesh (14 July 2021). "Uddhav Thackeray, Shivraj Singh Chouhan most popular CMs in 13-state approval ratings". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  18. ^ a b Rituraj Baruah; Swati Luthra (13 March 2022). "Mumbai aims carbon neutrality by 2050". Mint. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Big blow to Uddhav Thackeray, Election Commission allots 'Shiv Sena' name, 'bow and arrow' symbol to Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's faction". Zee Business. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Why Uddhav lost to Shinde in fight over 'bow and arrow': 5 points from EC order". Hindustan Times. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Uddhav Thackeray Loses Name, Symbol Of Shiv Sena Founded By Father". NDTV.com. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Thackeray's new conquest". India Today. Mumbai. 26 January 2004. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  23. ^ Vijapurkar, Mahesh (14 January 2004). "Uddhav Thackeray and those scenic forts". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 September 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  24. ^ Jadhav, Radheshyam (7 July 2022). "The reluctant Sainik: The rise and fall of Uddhav Thackeray". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  25. ^ "'We both had given up artistic careers': Anand Mahindra reminisces meeting Uddhav Thackeray for first time news". Business Today. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  26. ^ Kamath, Naresh (5 August 2010). "Raj, Uddhav slug it out over city's plight". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  27. ^ Chowdhury, Sudeshna (10 May 2011). "An aerial journey". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  28. ^ "Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray discharged from hospital". The Times of India. PTI. 23 July 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  29. ^ "Post-spine surgery, Uddhav Thackeray undergoing physiotherapy: CMO". The Times of India. PTI. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  30. ^ "CM Uddhav Thackeray discharged after spine surgery". Hindustan Times. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  31. ^ a b "Uddhav May Shift to New House After LS Elections". Indian Express. Mumbai. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  32. ^ "Rashmi Thackeray: Behind Uddhav Thackeray's success a woman". The Times of India. 28 November 2019. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  33. ^ "The rise and rise of Rashmi Thackeray". Kiran Tare. India Today. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  34. ^ "Rashmi Thackeray: Mrs Surefire". Vishwas Waghmode. The Indian Express. 8 March 2020. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  35. ^ Rawal, Swapnil (10 October 2019). "Uddhav Thackeray says younger son Tejas not joining politics". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
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