Mumbai: It seems as if everyone, including new-found allies, the Congress and the NCP, want Uddhav Thackeray to be the chief minister of the Shiv Sena-led government, except Thackeray ji himself.
Of course, whether the Sena will keep chief ministership for five years or agree to hand it over to the NCP after half-term is among the details that are still not ironed out.
The Sena, left to itself, will prefer the chief ministership for the entire term, without any rotational arrangement. Even as party cadres are rooting for Uddhav, they do not realise that in the end, it is his better half, Rashmi, whose word will carry weight.
Rashmi is not just Uddhav's life partner, she is considered his strongest supporter, adviser and motivator. For Sainiks, she is the second ‘Maasaheb’ and a sage, farsighted political strategist.
Incidentally, no one wants to move in at Varsha more than her. Rashmi Thackeray nee Patankar, born to Brahmin parents, was brought up in Dombivli, considered the bastion of Hindutva politics and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). She is perceived to be politically ambitious.
"Being a Brahmin from Dombivli, she knows the working style of the RSS very well. She has a good political as well as a socio-cultural network, which has come in useful while advising Uddhav on strategy at crucial times, especially when the Sena had to take on the BJP," a highly-placed source close to the Thackerays said.
"She is very alert about any negativity against the Shiv Sena and especially against Uddhav, in politics. She obtains inputs from the cadres and office-bearers but does not blindly trust anybody. She cross-checks every bit of crucial information and complaints," a senior leader said.
"She is the ideal ‘Vahinisaaheb’ (sister-in law), a second ‘Maasaheb’ (Meena Thackeray, the wife of party founder Bal Thackeray, was respectfully called Maasaheb).
As a daughter-in-law, she took care of Balasaheb. She is the de facto leader of the women's wing of the Sena and has direct contact with all key woman leaders.
She is very down-to-earth and treats Sainiks like family. At the same time, she can mingle with Neeta Ambani or Aishwarya Roy with ease," according to Sukrut Khandekar, Editor, Navshakti, the sister publication of The Free Press Journal.
"Her political sense and tuning with Uddhav is excellent. She played a key role in convincing Balasaheb to hand over the mantle of the Shiv Sena to Uddhav.
She was the steadying influence on a disturbed Uddhav when his cousin Raj left the party fold. She handles the backroom channels of discussion and has given instructions to leaders and workers during elections.
But she always prefers to remain backstage, content to be seen as a wife and mother in public, though she does all these things for her family," said Hemant Birje, a senior journalist who has been covering the Shiv Sena closely for more than a decade.
