That is not spine. That is vertebrae. Interchangeable! Till two years ago, most everybody, other than a Shiv Sainik, wouldn’t spare Uddhav Thackeray the time of the day. He wasn’t considered Thackeray enough. People looked for the political muscle in him. He couldn’t talk tough, much less act tough.

Then, all of a sudden, after the last assembly elections, when it came to form government, Thackeray cut loose and continuously refused to tow the BJP to power in Maharashtra. The BJP couldn’t believe the betrayal, but what could it do, other than sulk, and pray?

The BJP misses the bonhomie, the Shiv Sena does not. It has found friendship with the Nationalist Congress party and the Congress more rewarding. With the BJP, Shiv Sena was always the “junior partner.” In the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Shiv Sena heads the coalition. Also, a 'Thackeray' is in the driver’s seat even if Sharad Pawar is the driving force.

The best thing for the Shiv Sena is, the Congress is all pally and everything is hunky-dory between ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Hindu’. The BJP was rattled when called out for its ‘Hindutva’ identity by the ‘Hindu’ Congress, a little ashamed, too. But the Shiv Sena wears the ‘Hindutva’ tag with a sense of pride and belonging, which is what riles the Bharatiya Janata Party more.

Guess the BJP will stay riled till at least the next Maharashtra assembly elections. Uddhav Thackeray asserted his only regret was that the Shiv Sena stayed tied to the BJP’s coattails for 25 years. The words Thackeray used were “nurtured” along with “wasted” and the numeral “25”. The messaging unmistaken: “No more, not any longer, ever!”

That should put an end to any vestige of hope in the BJP. There is no way the BJP can wean away Shiv Sena from the MVA. Apparently, the MVA quick-fix spelled a permanent BJP-Sena break-up. It also conveyed that the MVA dispensation would complete its five year term and there was no way Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi would dump Uddhav Thackeray in the Arabian Sea off the Gateway of India.

Yup, India Gate might be taking the brunt of the BJP’s hatred, but the Gateway of India is out of its reach and Mumbaikars will not tolerate any rewriting of history. Without the “Gateway”, Mumbai wouldn’t be Mumbai. The BJP’s rewriting of history will be an exercise in futility as it moves from state to state, farther and farther away from ‘Dilli’.

That applies to the Shiv Sena and the BJP, too. There is no going back. Ever since the break, the BJP was hoping to reclaim its loss, but the Shiv Sena had no such desire. The Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray has had a makeover and there is not quite anybody of the Thackerays’ stature in the Shiv Sena to replace and take over.

The BJP can cry “Hindutva” as much as it can, but the Hindutva tag still fits the Shiv Sena despite its alliance with the “secular” NCP and Congress. "We wanted power for Hindutva…the Hindutva practiced by these people (BJP), is only a pretense. Their Hindutva is for power. People ask us whether we have left Hindutva. We have left BJP and not Hindutva. BJP does not mean Hindutva."

Uddhav Thackeray attacked the BJP’s “use and throw” policy. “Remember when BJP candidates used to lose their deposits. Then, they needed us. That is why they got into alliance with regional parties, with us, Akali Dal and TMC. We supported them wholeheartedly. But now these neo-Hindutvavadis are using Hindutva only for their own benefit.`` Thackeray did not cotton to Home Minister Amit Shah’s challenge to contest elections alone: “My condition is don't use your power as government. Let's fight as two political parties. It is not fair to use ED, Income Tax." It is very unlikely Shah will accept the challenge. Shah does not have the same spine as of May 5, 2019! (IPA Service)