Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday, 4 July launched a sharp counter-attack against Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, dismissing his announced statewide 'Ram Raksha' agitation as political opportunism and accusing him of invoking Hindu sentiment only when it served electoral interests. The pushback came hours after Thackeray alleged that funds donated to the Ayodhya Ram Temple were being misappropriated to engineer political defections.

The Allegations That Triggered the Clash

Thackeray had announced that Shiv Sena (UBT) supporters would gather at Dadar on 5 July to recite the 'Hanuman Chalisa' and 'Ram Raksha Stotra', framing the protest as a defence of temple sanctity against alleged financial irregularities in Ram Temple donation funds. He also claimed the diverted money was being used to fund political defections — a charge the Shinde camp categorically rejected.

Shinde Camp's Counterattack

Shiv Sena Minister and spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat termed Thackeray's allegations 'childish' and turned the Hanuman Chalisa symbolism back on him. Shirsat recalled that the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government — led by Thackeray — had arrested lawmaker couple Ravi and Navneet Rana when they sought to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside his residence.

'When the Rana couple wanted to recite the Hanuman Chalisa in the past, your government had them arrested. Now, suddenly, you want to recite it. At least this political desperation is finally forcing you to read the Hanuman Chalisa. The reality is you only remember Hindus when you need them for your politics,' Shirsat said.

The Hindutva Authenticity Debate

Shirsat characterised Thackeray's pivot to aggressive Hindutva as 'fake affection', pointing to the UBT's alliance with the Indian National Congress (Congress) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) within the Maha Vikas Aghadi as evidence of ideological contradiction. 'You raise slogans for Hindus, yet you sit in the lap of the Congress and the NCP. Go and ask your alliance partners if they even accept your version of Hindutva,' he said, adding that Thackeray should instead go to Dadar and 'beg Lord Hanuman for forgiveness for his own political blunders.'

Notably, the Rana couple arrest in 2022 had sparked a significant political controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the then-opposition accusing the MVA government of targeting Hindu religious expression. The episode resurfaced in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections as a campaign flashpoint.

Legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray Invoked

Responding to Uddhav Thackeray's invocation of the historic Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Shirsat drew a firm distinction between the late Balasaheb Thackeray and his successor. He recalled that when L.K. Advani led the Ram Rath Yatra, it was Balasaheb who famously declared — at a moment of national tension following the demolition of the Babri Masjid — 'If those who did this were Shiv Sainiks, I am proud of them.'

'Do not try to capitalise on that today. That credit belongs purely to Balasaheb,' Shirsat said, implying that Uddhav lacks the moral authority to inherit that legacy.

What Comes Next

The Ram Raksha protest at Dadar is scheduled for 5 July. The Shinde camp's aggressive pre-emptive rebuttal signals that the event will be contested on the political narrative front well before it takes place on the street. With Maharashtra's political landscape still unsettled after the 2024 assembly results, both factions appear to be fighting for ownership of the Hindutva constituency ahead of future electoral cycles.