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Shiv Sena (disambiguation)

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133-413: (Redirected from Sena Bhavan ) Shiv Sena or Shivsena may refer to various political parties: India [ edit ] Shiv Sena (1966–2022) , a defunct Marathi regionalist and Hindu nationalist political party Shiv Sena (2022–present) , a Marathi regionalist and Hindu nationalist political party formed during the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis by

266-477: A Rath Yatra (chariot journey) to Ayodhya in support of the Ram temple movement. According to Guha, the imagery employed by the yatra was "religious, allusive, militant, masculine, and anti-Muslim". Advani was placed under preventive detention on the orders of the then Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav . A large number of kar sevaks (religious volunteers) nonetheless converged at Ayodhya, and some attacked

399-551: A joint session of the Parliament, where the numerical superior Lok Sabha allowed the bill to pass. The act was subsequently used to prosecute hundreds of people accused of terrorism. However, it was criticised by opposition parties and scholars for being an infringement upon civil liberties , and the National Human Rights Commission of India stated that it had been used to target Muslims. It

532-561: A " moral police " and opposed Valentine's Day celebrations. On 14 February 2006, Bal Thackeray condemned and apologised for the violent attacks by its Shiv Sainiks on a private celebration in Mumbai. "It is said that women were beaten up in the Nallasopara incident. If that really happened, then it is a symbol of cowardice. I have always instructed Shiv Sainiks that in any situation women should not be humiliated and harassed." Thackeray and

665-673: A "sad spectacle" by Supreme Court of India , and draw criticism from Political Observers. Uddhav Thackeray resigned from the post as chief minister well as a MLC member ahead of no-confidence motion on 29 June 2022. Shinde subsequently formed a new coalition with the BJP, and was sworn in as the Chief Minister on 30 June 2022. Uddhav Thackeray filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of India claiming that Eknath Shinde and his group's actions meant that they were disqualified under

798-556: A 21-year-old woman who posted a Facebook comment against him, as well as her friend who "liked" the comment. Shiv Sena members, who took it as an insult, vandalised the clinic owned by the woman's relative. The charges were subsequently dropped, and the Government of Maharashtra was ordered to pay compensation of Rs 50,000 to each victim after the National Human Rights Commission noted that the detention

931-521: A Hindu country to the exclusion of other religions, making the BJP a Hindu nationalist party in a general sense. The BJP moderated its stance after the NDA was formed in 1998, due to the presence of parties with a broader set of ideologies. The BJP's Hindutva ideology has been reflected in many of its government policies. It supports the construction of the Ram Mandir temple at the disputed site of

1064-476: A Mumbai-based cartoonist, began publishing the satirical cartoon weekly Marmik . Through this publication, he started disseminating anti-migrant sentiments. On 19 June 1966, Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena as a political organisation. The Shiv Sena attracted many unemployed Marathi youth, who were attracted by Thackeray's charged anti-migrant oratory. Shiv Sena cadres became involved in various attacks against

1197-434: A ban on a scheduled concert by Pakistani classic singer Ghulam Ali . The move was adopted to appease anti-Pakistan constituents to vote for Sena in coming elections. However, in 2015 Pakistan urged the international community to take note of the activities of Shiv Sena, while Shiv Sena claimed that criticism of Shiv Sena by Pakistan vindicates "our patriotism". On 19 October 2015, Shiv Sena activists attacked and vandalised

1330-495: A broader Hindu nationalist agenda, and aligned itself with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Shiv Sena took part in Mumbai ( BMC ) municipal elections for its entire existence. In 1989, it entered into an alliance with the BJP for Lok Sabha as well as Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections. The alliance in the latter was temporarily broken in the 2014 elections due to seat sharing adjustment, although it

1463-476: A coalition; this caused the shelving of the Jana Sangh's more radical agenda. In 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of emergency . The Jana Sangh took part in the widespread protests, with thousands of its members being imprisoned along with other agitators across the country. In 1977, the emergency was withdrawn and general elections were held. The Jana Sangh merged with parties from across

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1596-563: A command and control centre of the party in Bal–Uddhava's regime. Following is the list of the chief ministers of Maharashtra from Shiv Sena. The Sena says it has played a central role in the emancipation of 500,000 slum dwellers in the Dharavi area of Mumbai, the largest slum in Asia. However, the policy of giving free houses to slum dwellers has been controversial since it was introduced by

1729-487: A criterion for citizenship under Indian law : it attracted global criticism , and sparked widespread protests that were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic . Counter-demonstrations against the protests developed into the 2020 Delhi riots , caused chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people killed, two-thirds were Muslim. In 2013, the Supreme Court of India reinstated the controversial Section 377 of

1862-511: A day". Shiv Sena organized a blood donation camp which collected over 24,000 bottles of blood in a single day. Later this world record was broken by a blood donation camp of HDFC Bank in 2014. In 2015 Shiv Sena announced 10,000 rupees help to each drought-affected farmer of Marathwada region, while they also announced 2 lakh rupees "reward" to Hindus family who had 5 children between 2010 and 2015 in Uttar Pradesh . As per Shiv Sena,

1995-443: A faction of the original Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena (UBT) , a Marathi regionalist and secular Hindutva political party formed during the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis by a faction of the original Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Nepal [ edit ] Nepal Shivsena , a Hindutva political party founded in 1999 Shivsena Nepal , a Hindu political party founded in 1990 Topics referred to by

2128-453: A foreign policy centred on nationalist principles. During its first period in national government, the BJP avoided its Hindu nationalist priorities, and focused on a largely liberal economic policy that prioritised globalisation and economic growth over social welfare . Since returning to government in 2014, the BJP government has enacted several priorities of the RSS, including criminalising

2261-586: A historian, and stated that the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism. Over its first term the Modi administration appointed other RSS members to lead universities and research institutions, and recruitment of faculty members favoring the RSS increased. Scholars Nandini Sundar and Kiran Bhatty write that many of these appointees did not possess the qualifications for their positions. The Modi administration also made numerous changes in government-approved history textbooks. These changes de-emphasizing

2394-750: A low figure relative to the number of seats it won. This was the first instance since 1984 of a single party achieving an outright majority in the Indian Parliament and the first time that it achieved a majority in the Lok Sabha on its own strength. Support was concentrated in the Hindi-speaking belt in North-central India. The magnitude of the victory was not predicted by most opinion and exit polls. Political analysts have suggested several reasons for this victory, including

2527-615: A medium-range ballistic missile. They were seen as an attempt to display India's military prowess to the world, and a reflection of anti-Pakistan sentiment within the BJP. The Vajpayee government ordered the Indian armed forces to expel the Pakistani soldiers occupying Kashmir territory, later known as the Kargil War . Although the government was later criticised for the intelligence failures that did not detect Pakistani presence, it

2660-452: A minor presence in parliament until 1967. The Jana Sangh's first major campaign, begun in early 1953, centred on a demand for the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir into India. Mukherjee was arrested in May 1953 for violating orders from the state government restraining him from entering Kashmir. He died of a heart attack the following month, while still in jail. Mauli Chandra Sharma

2793-554: A more protectionist turn on international trade during his second term, withdrawing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks and introducing the 2020 Atmanirbhar Bharat economic plan, which emphasises national self-sufficiency. Compared to Congress, the BJP takes a more aggressive and nationalistic position on defence policy and terrorism. The Vajpayee-led NDA government carried out nuclear weapons tests and enacted

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2926-433: A more aggressive stance on defence and terror and neo-liberal economic policies. In 2001, Bangaru Laxman , then the BJP president, was filmed accepting a bribe in a sting operation . He was compelled to resign and was subsequently prosecuted, eventually being sentenced to four years in prison. On 27 February 2002, a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was burned outside the town of Godhra , killing 59 people. The incident

3059-440: A network of grassroots organizations, known as " Shiv Sena Shakhas " ( transl.  Branch ). The Shakhas serve as the primary unit of the party, with each Shakha consisting of 25-50 members. The Shakhas were responsible for carrying out the party's activities at the grassroots level, such as mobilizing voters during elections, organizing protests and rallies, and engaging in community service activities. In addition to

3192-514: A radical shift from BJP orthodoxy while maintaining some aspects of it. Its policy also represented a significant change from the Nehruvian idealism of previous governments, opting instead for realism. His party criticised him for adopting a much more moderate stance with Pakistan. In 1998, he made a landmark visit to Pakistan, and inaugurated the Delhi–Lahore Bus service. Vajpayee signed

3325-610: A significant influence on the BJP's ideology. During the Cold War, the party and its affiliates strongly opposed India's long standing policy of non-alignment , and instead advocated closeness to the United States. In the post-Cold War era, the party has largely embraced the Indian foreign policy consensus of improving relations with the United States, while stressing a desire for a more multipolar world order. The Vajpayee government's foreign policy in many ways represented

3458-473: A strongly neo-liberal agenda, presented as a drive towards development. Its policies have included extensive privatisation of infrastructure and services, as well as a significant rollback of labour and environmental regulations. While this was praised by the business community, commentators criticised it as catering to the BJP's upper-class constituency instead of the poor. The economic policies of Modi's government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of

3591-498: A temple once stood there. The agitation was on the basis of the belief that the site is the birthplace of Rama, and that a temple had been demolished to construct the mosque. The BJP threw its support behind this campaign and made it a part of their election platform. It won 86 Lok Sabha seats in 1989, a tally which made its support crucial to the National Front government of V. P. Singh . In September 1990, Advani began

3724-401: A year. Following fresh elections, the NDA government—again headed by Vajpayee—lasted for a full term in office; this was the first non-Congress government to do so. In the 2004 general election , the NDA suffered an unexpected defeat, and for the next ten years, the BJP was the principal opposition party. Narendra Modi, then the chief minister of Gujarat , led the party to a landslide victory in

3857-504: Is Brahmins , Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu and Pathare Prabhus - Thackerey, Manohar Joshi , Sudhir Joshi , Balwant Mantri, Hemchandra Gupte, Shyam Deshmukh, Madhav Deshpande, Datta Pradhan, Vijay Parvatkar, Madhukar Sarpotdar and Pramod Navalkar . One of the above-mentioned leaders, Hemchandra Gupte, who was Mayor of Bombay in the early 70s and was the former family physician and confidant of Thackeray, quit Shivsena citing flaws such as importance given to money, violence committed by

3990-527: Is a significant range of economic ideologies within the party. In the 1980s, like the Jana Sangh , it reflected the thinking of the RSS and its affiliates. It supported swadeshi (the promotion of indigenous industries and products) and a protectionist export policy. However, it supported internal economic liberalisation , and opposed the state-driven industrialisation favoured by the Congress. During

4123-689: Is against both Indian culture and the law of the land (under section 294 of the Indian Penal Code), though according to the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, kissing in public is not a criminal offence. Police took many of the Kiss of Love protestors into custody to save their lives, but were blamed for giving a free hand to counter protestors of the right wing groups. In October 2015, Shiv Sena issued threats which enforced

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4256-472: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Shiv Sena (1966%E2%80%932022) Shiv Sena (1966–2022) ( Śhiva Sēnā ; lit.   ' Army of Shivaji ' ; abbr. SS ) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva -based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray , who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray . The party

4389-469: Is opposed to same-sex marriage , stating in a legal affidavit that legalizing it would cause "complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country" and that it was "not comparable with Indian family unit concept of a husband, wife & children which necessarily presuppose a biological man as 'husband', a biological woman as 'wife' and children born out of union". The BJP's economic policy has changed considerably since its founding. There

4522-519: Is split into two parties: the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) which has a new symbol of Mashaal (Torch) and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena (2022–present) which has gotten hold of the original party name and the "bow and arrow" symbol. Initially apolitical, the organisation was patronised by the then Chief Minister Vasantrao Naik who used it for curbing trade unions and maintain stranglehold of

4655-665: The 1992–1993 Bombay riots . After the Independence of India in 1947, regional administrative divisions from the colonial era were gradually changed and states following linguistic borders were created. Within the Bombay Presidency , a massive popular struggle was launched for the creation of a state for the Marathi-speaking people. In 1960, the presidency was divided into two linguistic states: Gujarat and Maharashtra . Moreover, Marathi-speaking areas of

4788-468: The 2014 general election . Modi has since led the NDA government as Indian prime minister, including being re-elected with a sole majority in the 2019 general election and with a coalition in the 2024 general election . As of December 2023, the alliance governs 17 Indian states and union territories. The official ideology of the BJP is integral humanism , first formulated by Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1965. The party advocates social conservatism and

4921-481: The 2017 Doklam standoff with China. The Modi government considers national security to be one of their key focuses and has implemented many long-standing defence reforms. In August 2019, the Modi government established the post of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to ensure better coordination between all three services, a reform that was widely requested after the 1999 Kargil War. The Department of Military Affairs

5054-543: The Babri Mosque . This issue was its major poll plank in the 1991 general elections. However, the demolition of the mosque during a BJP rally in 1992 resulted in a backlash against it, leading to a decline of the temple's prominence in its agenda. The education policy of the NDA government reorganised the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and tasked it with extensively revising

5187-587: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena candidates fought on BJP's lotus symbol. The party began a coalition with the BJP for seats in the Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra Assembly from 1989. The two formed a government in Maharashtra between 1995 and 1999. The Sena was the opposition party in the state along with the BJP from 1999 to 2014. However, the 25 year alliance with the BJP

5320-641: The Congress . The organisation at the same time carried out pro- Marathi nativist movement in Mumbai in which it agitated for preferential treatment for the Marathi people over migrants from other parts of India. Although Shiv Sena's primary base always remained in Maharashtra , it tried to expand to a pan-Indian base. In the 1970s, it gradually moved from advocating a pro-Marathi ideology to supporting

5453-607: The Indian National Congress and Nationalist Congress Party Following the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis , the party split. The party once had a powerful hold over the Hindi film industry . It has been accused of being an " extremist ", " chauvinist " , or " fascist " party. Shiv Sena has been allegedly involved in the 1970 communal violence in Bhiwandi , the 1984 Bhiwandi riot , and violence in

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5586-475: The Konkan coastal areas. However, in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the result was reversed. The Shiv Sena made inroads in the interior parts of the state, while suffering losses in Mumbai. In July 2005, Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Sena leader Narayan Rane was expelled from the party, which sparked internal conflict in the party. In December the same year Raj Thackeray , Bal Thackeray's nephew, left

5719-475: The Lahore Declaration , which was an attempt to improve Indo-Pakistani relations that deteriorated after the 1998 nuclear tests. However, the presence of Pakistani soldiers and militants in the disputed Kashmir territory was discovered a few months later, causing the 1999 Kargil War . The war ended a couple of months later, with the expulsion of the infiltrators two months later, without any shift in

5852-649: The Parliament of India as well as state legislatures . The party's origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh , which was founded in 1951 by Indian politician Syama Prasad Mukherjee , after he left Hindu Mahasabha to form a party as the political wing of RSS. After the Emergency of 1975–1977, the Jana Sangh merged with several other political parties to form the Janata Party ; it defeated

5985-651: The Prevention of Terrorism Act , which later came under heavy criticism. It also deployed troops to evict infiltrators from Kargil, and supported the United States War on Terror . Although previous Congress governments developed the capability for a nuclear weapons test, the Vajpayee government broke with India's historical strategy of avoiding it and authorised Pokhran-II , a series of five nuclear tests in 1998. The tests came soon after Pakistan tested

6118-693: The Shakhas , the party has various other organizational structures, including the Yuva Sena , ( transl.  Youth Army ) party's youth wing, and the Mahila Aghadi , the party's women's wing. The Shiv Sena is also affiliated with the Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti , which advocates for the preservation of employment rights for Maharashtrians in Maharashtra. Prior to the rebellion by its prominent leader Eknath Shinde in 2022,

6251-704: The Shiv Sena in addition to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Biju Janata Dal . Among these regional parties, the Shiv Sena was the only one that had an ideology similar to the BJP; Amartya Sen , for example, called the coalition an "ad hoc" grouping. The NDA had a majority with outside support from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Vajpayee returned as Prime Minister. However,

6384-468: The Shivsainiks ( transl.  Soldiers ) and Bal Thackeray's support to then prime minister Indira Gandhi during the 1975 emergency . There were also leaders from other castes such as Dattaji Salvi , Dattaji Nalawade and Wamanrao Mahadik , and those from the so-called lower castes such as Chaggan Bhujbal , Leeladhar Dake , Bhai Shingre and Vijay Gaonkar. Over the years, other than

6517-426: The Uttar Pradesh assembly. On 6 December 1992, the RSS and its affiliates organised a rally involving more than 100,000 VHP and BJP activists at the site of the mosque. The rally developed into a frenzied attack that ended with the demolition of the mosque . Over the following weeks, waves of violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted all over the country, killing over 2,000 people. The government briefly banned

6650-504: The anti-defection law , with Eknath Shinde claiming that he has not defected, but rather represents the true Shiv Sena party. The case is currently being heard by Supreme Court of India . The parties split into two factions: Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena led by Shinde and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) led by Thackeray. Shinde subsequently filed a petition with the Election Commission of India staking his claim to

6783-579: The ruling political party in India under the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi . The BJP is aligned with right-wing politics and has close ideological and organisational links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a far-right paramilitary organisation . Its policies adhere to Hindutva , a Hindu nationalist ideology. As of January 2024, it is the country's biggest political party in terms of representation in

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6916-537: The special status given to Jammu and Kashmir . After assembly elections across the country in 1967, the party entered into a coalition with several other parties, including the Swatantra Party and the socialists. It formed governments in various states across the Hindi Belt , including Madhya Pradesh , Bihar and Uttar Pradesh . It was the first time the Jana Sangh held political office, albeit within

7049-597: The 'Shiv Sena' name and the Bow and Arrow symbol. The ECI ruled in favour of Shinde's faction based on the strength of its legislative wing, rather than on the organizational wing. Thackeray appealed against the decision, and the case is currently pending in the Supreme Court. The Shiv Sena (SS) was led by a president, traditionally referred to as the " Shiv Sena Pramukh ", ( transl.  Chief ) which translates to "Shiv Sena Chief" in English. Bal Thackeray served as

7182-492: The 1996 elections, and later when it was in government, the BJP shifted its stance away from protectionism and towards globalisation . The tenure of the NDA saw an unprecedented influx of foreign companies in India. This was criticised, including by the BJP's affiliates, the RSS and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch: the RSS stated that the BJP was not being true to its swadeshi ideology. The two NDA governments in

7315-537: The BJP became the largest political party in the Parliament in 1996; however, it lacked a majority in the lower house of Parliament, and its government, under its then-leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee , lasted for only 13 days. After the 1998 general election , the BJP-led coalition known as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under prime minister Vajpayee formed a government that lasted for

7448-523: The BJP in their global network. However, BJP's youth organisation remains a member of the youth wing of the IDU. During Modi's first term as prime minister, the BJP expanded its presence in several states where it had previously been a minor player, and it regained power in other states where it had been in opposition for a considerable period. Assam , Tripura , Arunachal Pradesh , Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , Haryana , and Jammu and Kashmir saw an increase in

7581-548: The BJP's electoral campaigns, while the Modi administration appointed a number of individuals affiliated with the RSS to prominent government positions. In 2014, Yellapragada Sudershan Rao , who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned his credentials as

7714-548: The BJP's influence, and the party entered government in several of these states. In 2019, the BJP won the general election with an increased majority. Soon after returning to power, on 5 August 2019, the Modi administration revoked the special status, or limited autonomy , granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir —a region administered by India as a state. This state consists of

7847-566: The Bal Thackeray, there have been twelve senior leaders in the party, out of these, eight have been from upper caste (four were Brahmins , two Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu and two Pathare Prabhus ). Others have been either Maratha ( Dattaji Salvi ), Shimpi ( Wamanrao Mahadik ), Agri ( Leeladhar Dake ) or Mali ( Chaggan Bhujbal ). In fact, Bhujbal quit the party accusing the party is biased towards upper caste people. The number of Dalits were also not insignificant and even after

7980-463: The Emergency in 1975 and supported the Congress in the 1977 general election . In 1980 Maharashtra Assembly election , the party did not contest from any seat however it campaigned for the Congress. The Sena started placing more weight on the Hindutva ideology in the 1970s as the 'sons of the soil' cause was weakening. In the 1984 general election , Shiv Sena formed its first alliance with

8113-505: The Indian Penal Code , which, among other things, criminalises homosexuality. There was a popular outcry, although clerics, including Muslim religious leaders, stated that they supported the verdict. BJP president Rajnath Singh said that the party supported Section 377, because it believed that homosexuality was unnatural, though the party softened the stance after its victory in the 2014 general elections. The Modi government

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8246-594: The Jana Sangh remained relatively unchanged, retaining a strong association with the RSS, which did not sit well with the moderate centre-right constituents of the Party. Violence between Hindus and Muslims increased sharply during the years that the Janata Party formed the government, with former Jana Sangha members being implicated in the riots in Aligarh and Jamshedpur in 1978–79. The other major constituents of

8379-417: The Janata Party demanded that the former Jana Sangh members should dissociate themselves from the RSS, which they refused to do. Eventually, a fragment of the Janata Party broke off to form the Janata Party (Secular) . The Morarji Desai government was reduced to a minority in the Parliament, forcing Desai's resignation. Following a brief period of coalition rule, general elections were held in 1980, in which

8512-568: The Janata Party fared poorly, winning only 31 seats. In April 1980, shortly after the elections, the National Executive Council of the Janata Party banned its members from being 'dual members' of party and the RSS. In response, the former Jana Sangh members left to create a new political party, known as the Bharatiya Janata Party. Although the newly formed BJP was technically distinct from the Jana Sangh,

8645-399: The Rajya Sabha and Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha for the following 5 years. It lost the Karnataka assembly election in 2013. In the 2014 Indian general election , the BJP won 282 seats, leading the NDA to a tally of 336 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha. Narendra Modi was sworn in as the 14th prime minister of India on 26 May 2014. The vote share of the BJP was 31% of all votes cast,

8778-413: The Sena opposed the reservations proposed by the Mandal commission , there was no dent in the percentage of Other Backward Class in the party. In this way, the Sena was successful in uniting all Maharashtrians irrespective of caste under the common "Marathi umbrella". The agenda of preferential treatment for the "sons of the soil" that is Maharashtrians brought them all together. Shiv Sena's strength in

8911-432: The Shiv Sena remained opposed to it, although they indicated support for an "Indian alternative". On 20 November 2009, Shiv Sena activists attacked and vandalised the offices of Hindi and Marathi language TV news channels IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat , located in Mumbai and Pune respectively. The Shivsainik slapped IBN7's senior editor Ravindra Ambekar and then attacked IBN-Lokmat's editor Nikhil Wagle. Shiv Sena attributed

9044-435: The South Indian communities, vandalizing South Indian restaurants and pressuring employers to hire Marathis. Initially apolitical, the organisation was patronised by the then Chief Minister Vasantrao Naik who used it for curbing trade unions and maintain stranglehold of the Congress. Because of its close association with Vasantrao, the organisation was also referred to as "Vasant Sena". The Shiv Sena declared support to

9177-409: The VHP, and many BJP leaders, including Advani were arrested for making inflammatory speeches provoking the demolition. Several historians have said that the demolition was the product of a conspiracy by the Sangh Parivar, and not a spontaneous act. In the parliamentary elections in 1996, the BJP capitalised on the communal polarisation that followed the demolition to win 161 Lok Sabha seats, making it

9310-452: The attacks to the criticisms of Bal Thackeray by the news channel over his remarks on Sachin Tendulkar . Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut described the attacks as "spontaneous". Shiv Sena spokespersons tried to justify the attacks and refused to apologize for their acts of violence. On 18 November 2012, following the death of founder Bal Thackeray , Mumbai Police , under the pressure of Shiv Sena workers and activists, arrested

9443-432: The bulk of its rank and file were identical to its predecessor, with Vajpayee being its first president. Historian Ramachandra Guha writes that the early 1980s were marked by a wave of violence between Hindus and Muslims. The BJP initially moderated the Hindu nationalist stance of its predecessor the Jana Sangh to gain a wider appeal, emphasising its links to the Janata Party and the ideology of Gandhian socialism . This

9576-545: The coalition ruptured in May 1999 when the leader of AIADMK, J. Jayalalithaa , withdrew her support, and fresh elections were held again. On 13 October 1999, without the AIADMK, the NDA won 303 seats in parliament and thus an outright majority. The BJP had its highest-ever tally of 183. Vajpayee became Prime Minister for the third time; Advani became Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister . This NDA government lasted its full term of five years. Its policy agenda included

9709-414: The country of Pakistan by the Congress party and then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru . The RSS loaned several of its leading pracharaks , or full-time workers, to the Jana Sangh to get the new party off the ground. Prominent among these was Deendayal Upadhyaya , who was appointed General Secretary. The Jana Sangh won only three Lok Sabha seats in the first general elections in 1952 . It maintained

9842-475: The country's largest unions went on strike, including one affiliated with the BJP. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh , a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, stated that the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers. Modi has been described as taking a more economically populist approach on healthcare and agricultural policy. Modi's government has also been described as taking

9975-713: The cricket pitch of the Agra Sport Stadium which was supposed to host the cricket match between Pakistan and India. In April 2005, Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, the student wing of Shiv Sena, attempted to prevent the India-Pakistan One-day international match being held in New Delhi. The protester's spokesman demanded: India should not play cricket with Pakistan till it hands over to India 20 terrorists, including Dawood Ibrahim , and closes down militant training camps running there. The Sena acted as

10108-592: The demolition. He was accused of posting bureaucrats and police officers who would stay silent during the demolition. In 2020, the Supreme Court of India acquitted all of the accused in the demolition including Advani and Joshi. Following the 2019 Supreme Court verdict , the Government of India announced a trust to construct the Mandir. On 22 January 2024, the Ram Mandir was officially opened. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led its consecration, claiming it to be

10241-791: The differential procedures required to protect the cultural identity of the Muslim minority. The BJP favoured, and in 2019 enacted, the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India , which granted a greater degree of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir in recognition of the unusual circumstances surrounding its accession to the Indian Union . It simultaneously abrogated Jammu and Kashmir statehood , reorganizing it into two union territories , Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh . The BJP opposes illegal immigration into India from Bangladesh . The party states that this migration, mostly in

10374-468: The economy, based on a neoliberal framework. Modi liberalised India's foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways. Other proposed reforms included making it harder for workers to form unions and easier for employers to hire and fire them; some of these proposals were dropped after protests. The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of

10507-489: The erstwhile Hyderabad state were joined with Maharashtra. Bombay, in many ways the economic capital of India, became the state capital of Maharashtra. On one hand, people belonging to the Gujarati community owned the majority of the industry and trade enterprises in the city. On the other hand, there was a steady flow of South Indian migrants to the city who came to take many white-collar jobs. In 1960, Bal Thackeray ,

10640-406: The first Shiv Sena Pramukh and took all major decisions while the activists and members of the Shiv Sena, known as Shiv Sainiks , ( transl.  Soldiers ) carried out most of the party's grassroots work. During his last days, the day-to-day activities of the party were handled by his youngest son Uddhav Thackeray, who succeeded him as party leader after his death in 2012. Shiv Sena formed

10773-454: The first time ever, Thackeray family directly participated in election when Aditya contested for a seat of MLA in 2019. Later, his father debuted in direct politics and became chief minister of the state. Aditya was the tourism minister his father's cabinet . People of various Maharashtrian castes worked together in the Sena. The party's leaders mostly came from the so-called "high castes" that

10906-403: The history has been widely described as a right-wing party , but has recently been described as far-right or part of the radical right, a subset of the far-right that does not oppose democracy. The official philosophy of the BJP is " Integral humanism ," a philosophy first formulated by Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1965, who described it as advocating an "indigenous economic model that puts

11039-409: The human being at center stage." It is committed to Hindutva , an ideology articulated by Indian independence activist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar . According to the party, Hindutva is cultural nationalism favouring Indian culture over westernisation , thus it extends to all Indians regardless of religion. Scholars and political analysts describe Hindutva as seeking to redefine India and recast it as

11172-454: The ideology of Marathi regionalism under the leadership of Bal Thackeray . However, the party shifted towards ultranationalism and right-wing populism over time, which helped them form an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) . When Uddhav Thackeray became the party leader, he gradually shifted towards composite nationalism and formed an alliance with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). This shift in ideology

11305-750: The larger part of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute among India, Pakistan , and China since 1947. Later in 2019, the Modi administration introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 , which was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a path to Indian citizenship for illegal immigrants of Hindu , Sikh , Buddhist , Jain , Parsi , or Christian religion, who had fled persecution from Pakistan , Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014. Muslims from those countries were not given such eligibility. The act

11438-480: The largest party in parliament. Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister but was unable to attain a majority in the Lok Sabha, forcing the government to resign after 13 days. A 2009 report , authored by Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan , found that 68 people were responsible for the demolition, mostly leaders from the BJP. Among those named were Vajpayee, Advani, and Murli Manohar Joshi . The report also criticised Kalyan Singh , Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh during

11571-734: The late 1980s and early '90s mainly came from the support of the Maratha caste - which it drew away from the Congress. Citing the large percentage of MLAs elected from Shiv Sena belonging to the Maratha caste, Vora from the University of Pune concludes that the Shiv Sena has been emerging as a "Maratha Party". Shivsena Bhavan ( transl.  House ), was the central office of the Shiv Sena, located in Ram Ganesh Gadkari Chowk and Shivaji Park in Dadar , Mumbai . It

11704-480: The leader of the Jana Sangh, was appointed the Minister of External Affairs . The national leadership of the former Jana Sangh consciously renounced its identity, and attempted to integrate with the political culture of the Janata Party, based on Gandhian and Hindu traditionalist principles. Political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot wrote that this proved to be impossible assimilation. The state and local levels of

11837-431: The lotus symbol is also integrated. This particular colour scheme used in the flag assists the party to project itself as a secular party. Meanwhile, this also helps the party to maintain a religious undertone for its core electorate and Hindu nationalistic supporter groups . The BJP's origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh , popularly known as the Jana Sangh, founded by Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951 in response to

11970-399: The mosque. Three days of fighting with the paramilitary forces ended with the deaths of several kar sevaks . Hindus were urged by VHP to "take revenge" for these deaths, resulting in riots against Muslims across Uttar Pradesh. The BJP withdrew its support from the V.P. Singh government, leading to fresh general elections. The BJP further increased its tally to 120 seats, and won a majority in

12103-469: The office of BCCI to stop a meeting between PCB and BCCI officials. The activists shouted anti-Pakistan slogans and held posters that read 'Shahryar Khan go back', determined to stop Manohar from meeting his Pakistani counterpart. Shiv Sena has also threatened to stop Pakistan's Aleem Dar from officiating in the fifth and final ODI between India and South Africa. On 23 March 2017, while travelling to Delhi from Pune , Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Gaikwad

12236-541: The party is the flower Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) . Lotus has a cultural significance within India as well as Hinduism . The symbol has been regarded as a symbol of peace and prosperity within Hinduism. Likewise, during the independence movement of India , the symbol was used by Indian nationalist as a symbol of revolt against the British Raj . Lotus is also recognised as the national flower of India . Thus, use of

12369-509: The party like Lal Krishna Advani , Murli Manohar Joshi , and Jaswant Singh amongst others were allegedly sidelined. In 2016, the BJP joined the International Democratic Union , a grouping of various centre-right and right-wing political parties across the globe. However, as of 2024, the party is no longer a member, the secretary general of the IDU, Tina Mercep, stated that they would welcome full membership of

12502-466: The party of government in Assam. The Modi administration passed a citizenship law in 2019 which provided a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan , Bangladesh and Pakistan who are Hindus , Sikhs , Buddhists , Jains , Parsis or Christians . The law does not grant such eligibility to Muslims . This was first time religion had been overtly used as

12635-424: The party was in hand of Thackeray family , thus most of the important positions was hold by Bal Thackeray's son and grandson that is Uddhav and Aditya Thackeray respectively. Opposition parties frequently alleged Shiva Sena as a dynastic political party. Bal Thackeray never remained on any elected political position but he never vacated the position of Shiva Sena supremo and ruled as a Godfather or king maker. For

12768-552: The party. Raj Thackeray later founded a separate party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Although the MNS is a break-away group from the Shiv Sena, the party is still based in Bhumiputra ideology. When unveiling the party in an assembly at Shivaji Park he said, everyone is anxious to see what will happen to Hindutva and, "I shall elaborate on the party's stance on issues like Hindutva, its agenda for development of Maharashtra and

12901-411: The period 1998–2004 introduced significant deregulation and privatisation of government-owned enterprises. It also introduced tariff-reducing measures. These reforms built off of the initial economic liberalisation introduced by the P. V. Narasimha Rao-led Congress government in the early 1990s. India's GDP growth increased substantially during the tenure of the NDA. The 2004 campaign slogan India Shining

13034-413: The philosophy of integral humanism , which formed the official doctrine of the party. Younger leaders, such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani also became involved with the leadership in this period, with Vajpayee succeeding Upadhyaya as president in 1968. The major themes on the party's agenda during this period were legislating a uniform civil code , banning cow slaughter and abolishing

13167-578: The political spectrum, including the Socialist Party , the Congress (O) and the Bharatiya Lok Dal to form the Janata Party, with its main agenda being defeating Indira Gandhi. The Janata Party won a majority in 1977 and formed a government with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister. The former Jana Sangh contributed the largest tally to the Janata Party's parliamentary contingent, with 93 seats or 31% of its strength. Vajpayee , previously

13300-461: The politics of the dominant National Congress party . It was founded in collaboration with the Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and was widely regarded as the political arm of the RSS. The Jana Sangh's aims included the protection of India's "Hindu" cultural identity, in addition to countering what it perceived to be the appeasement of Muslim people and

13433-416: The popularity of Modi, and the loss of support for the Congress due to the corruption scandals in its previous term. The BJP was also able to expand its traditionally upper-caste, upper-class support base and received significant support from middle-class and Dalit people, as well as among Other Backward Classes . Its support among Muslims remained low; only 8% of Muslim voters voted for the BJP. The BJP

13566-484: The practice of triple talaq , and revoking Article 370 of the Constitution of India (which granted autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir ), abrogating its statehood . India has experienced nationwide democratic backsliding under the BJP's rule since 2014 . The name as well as the symbol of the party were selected by the founders. The name "Bharatiya Janata Party" literally translates to "Indian People's Party". The Symbol of

13699-687: The reason behind the "reward" was "decline in growth rate of Hindu population compared to Muslim population as per recent census". In January 2016, the Shiv Sena demanded that the words "secular" and "socialist" be "permanently removed" from the Constitution's Preamble which were added in the 42nd amendment during the emergency . In April 2019, party member Sanjay Raut called for the burqa to be banned. The Shiv Sena has been involved in several controversies, ranging from hooliganism, criminal activities, spreading religious bigotry, and moral policing. In December 2003, Shiv Sena activists damaged

13832-412: The role of Jawaharlal Nehru , and glorifying that of Modi himself, while also portraying Indian society as harmonious, without conflict or inequity. The BJP supports a uniform civil code , which would apply a common set of personal laws to every citizen regardless of their personal religion, replacing the existing laws which vary by religious community. Historian Yogendra Malik writes that this ignores

13965-492: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Shiv Sena . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shiv_Sena_(disambiguation)&oldid=1258903938#Shivsena_Bhavan " Categories : Disambiguation pages Political party disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

14098-495: The significance of the party flag colours at the 19 March public meeting." Bal Thackeray's son Uddhav Thackeray became the party's leader in 2004, although Bal Thackeray continued to be an important figurehead. After the death of Bal Thackeray on 17 November 2012, Uddhav became the leader of the party but refused to take the title " Shiv Sena Pramukh " (Eng : Shiv Sena Supremo). The Shiv Sena party's ideology has undergone changes since its formation. Initially, it started with

14231-505: The slogan " India Shining ", which sought to depict it as responsible for a rapid economic transformation of the country. However, the NDA unexpectedly suffered a heavy defeat, winning only 186 seats in the Lok Sabha , compared to the 222 of the Congress and its allies. Manmohan Singh succeeded Vajpayee as Prime Minister as the head of the United Progressive Alliance . The NDA's failure to reach out to rural Indians

14364-545: The start of a new era. The temple is expected to be fully completed by December 2024. A coalition of regional parties formed the government in 1996, but this grouping was short-lived, and mid-term polls were held in 1998. The BJP contested the elections leading a coalition called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which contained its existing allies like the Samata Party , the Shiromani Akali Dal ,

14497-441: The states of Assam and West Bengal, threatens the security, economy and stability of the country. Academics have pointed out that the BJP refers to Hindu migrants from Bangladesh as refugees, and reserves the term "illegal" for Muslim migrants. Academic Michael Gillan perceived it as an attempt to use an emotive issue to mobilise Hindu sentiment in a region where the party has not been historically successful. The party later became

14630-510: The symbol gives the party a nationalist as well as Hindutva appeal. Besides these, the party also heavily uses the Saffron colour in its promotional materials and campaigning. Similar to Lotus, the Saffron colour also has a major significance within Hinduism. The most common flag used by the party is predominantly saffron with a stripe of green in the left. Within the Saffron part of the flag,

14763-451: The textbooks used in Indian schools. Various scholars have stated that this revision, especially in the case of history textbooks, was a covert attempt to " saffronise " Indian history. The NDA government introduced Hindu astrology as a subject in college curricula, despite opposition from several leading scientists. Links between the BJP and the RSS grew stronger under the Modi administration. The RSS provided organisational support to

14896-802: The then Shiv Sena-BJP government. In the 1970s, Shiv Sena was opposed to the Namantar Andolan , a Dalit -led movement to change the name of Marathwada University in Aurangabad to "Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar University", and supported views of conservative Marathas. In 1996, Shiv Sena organised the first and only live concert of American pop icon Michael Jackson in India to raise the funds for its business wing and to help create over two-hundred seventy thousand jobs for people of Maharashtra . Shiv Sena got an entry in Guinness Book of World Records in 2010 for "collecting maximum blood in

15029-498: The then-incumbent Indian National Congress in the 1977 general election . After three years in power, the Janata Party dissolved in 1980, with the members of the erstwhile Jana Sangh reconvening to form the modern-day BJP. Although initially unsuccessful—winning only two seats in the 1984 general election , it grew in strength on the back of the movement around Ram Janmabhoomi in Uttar Pradesh . Following victories in several state elections and better performances in national elections,

15162-516: The violence, as were police officers who allegedly directed the rioters and gave them lists of Muslim-owned properties. In April 2009, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate and expedite the Gujarat riots cases. In 2012, Modi was cleared of complicity in the violence by the SIT. BJP MLA Maya Kodnani , who later held a cabinet portfolio in the Modi government,

15295-411: Was a significant departure from Shiv Sena's traditional stance, as the party had been historically opposed to the Congress and NCP for the majority of its existence. In late June 2022, Eknath Shinde , a senior Shiv Sena leader, and the majority of MLAs from Shiv Sena joined hands with the BJP. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari called for a trust vote, an action that would later on be described as

15428-399: Was accused of thrashing Air India staff with his shoe, when they tried to make him disembark the plane, after being denied a business class seat because the flight was all-economy. The Delhi Police had charged him with hitting government staff on duty, as well as taking the plane ransom without departing from the plane. The incident led to the creation of No-Fly List in India, and Gaikwad

15561-570: Was also established and put under the CDS. The historical stance of the BJP towards foreign policy , like the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, was based on an aggressive Hindu nationalism combined with economic protectionism. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded with the explicit aim of reversing the partition of India ; as a result, its official position was that the existence of Pakistan was illegitimate. This antagonism toward Pakistan remains

15694-421: Was also very successful at mobilizing its supporters and raising voter turnout among them. After winning the election, the organisation of the BJP became more centralised with Modi at the helm. People loyal to Modi were rewarded leadership positions across various states within India. Amit Shah , a close confidant of Modi, was appointed as the president of the BJP in 2014. Contextually, many veteran leaders of

15827-735: Was appointed president of the party, and under him it became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. In the early 1980s, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) began a campaign for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Rama at the disputed site of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya . The mosque had been constructed by the Mughal Emperor Babur in 1527. There is a dispute about whether

15960-465: Was based on the party's belief that the free market would bring prosperity to all sectors of society. After its unexpected defeat, commentators said that it was punished for neglecting the needs of the poor and focusing too much on its corporate allies. This shift in the economic policies of the BJP was also visible in state governments, especially in Gujarat, where the BJP held power for 16 years. Modi's government, in power from 2002 to 2014, followed

16093-477: Was convicted of having orchestrated one of the riots and sentenced to 28 years imprisonment; she was later acquitted by the Gujarat High Court . Scholars such as Paul Brass , Martha Nussbaum and Dipankar Gupta have said that there was a high level of state complicity in the incidents. Vajpayee called for early elections in 2004 , six months ahead of schedule. The NDA's campaign was based on

16226-489: Was elected to succeed Mukherjee; however, he was forced out of power by the RSS activists within the party, and the leadership went instead to Upadhyaya. Upadhyay remained the General Secretary until 1967, and worked to build a committed grassroots organisation in the image of the RSS. The party minimised engagement with the public, focusing instead on building its network of propagandists. Upadhyaya also articulated

16359-540: Was first inaugurated on 19 June 1977, and refurbished and re-inaugurated on 27 July 2006. It has a Copper Statue of Shivaji Maharaj and a large Poster of Bal Thackeray . In the 1993 Bombay bombings , terrorists planted a powerful bomb in Shivsena Bhavan; it exploded and the building received damage. Matoshri , the house of Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray was an important building in this party. Many high-profile meetings usually held in it. It worked as

16492-452: Was illegal and violated rights to freedom of speech and expression. On 2 November 2014, during the Kiss of Love protest against moral policing, members of Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal , Vishwa Hindu Parishad and many other right wing groups opposed and attacked protestors and threatened to strip protestors for kissing on the streets. These opposing groups claimed that public display of affection

16625-841: Was later repealed by the Congress-led UPA government in 2004. The Modi government has conducted several strikes on territory controlled by neighbouring countries on counterterrorism grounds. This included a 2015 Indian counter-insurgency operation in Myanmar against the National Socialist Council of Nagaland , the 2016 Indian Line of Control strike in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and the 2019 Balakot airstrike in Pakistan. It also militarily intervened in defence of Bhutan during

16758-490: Was provided as an explanation for its defeat, as was its divisive policy agenda. In May 2008, the BJP won the state elections in Karnataka . This was the first time that the party won assembly elections in any South Indian state. In the 2009 general elections , its strength in the Lok Sabha was reduced to 116 seats. The election campaign would be the final for Advani as leader. The party would be led by Arun Jaitley in

16891-751: Was quickly reformed. Shiv Sena was one of the founding members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 1998, and it also participated in Vajpayee Government from 1998 to 2004 and the Narendra Modi Government from 2014 to 2019. After 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election , the party left the alliance after disagreements with BJP over the CM post. Under Uddhav Thackeray , Shiva Sena formed an alliance with its historic rivals,

17024-403: Was seen as an attack upon Hindus, and sparked off massive anti-Muslim violence across the state of Gujarat that lasted several weeks. The death toll estimated was as high as 2000, while 150,000 were displaced. Rape, mutilation, and torture were also widespread. The then-Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and several high-ranking government officials were accused of initiating and condoning

17157-526: Was successful in ousting them from the previously Indian-controlled territory. After the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, the NDA government passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act . The aim of the act was to improve the government's ability to deal with terrorism. It initially failed to pass in the Rajya Sabha ; therefore, the NDA took the extraordinary step of convening

17290-435: Was the first person to be put on the list. Bharatiya Janata Party ( 4013 MLAs & 23 Vacant) ( 403 MLCs & 23 Vacant) The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP , [bʱaːɾətiːjə dʒənətaː paːɾʈiː] ; lit.   ' Indian People's Party ' ) is a political party in India and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress . Since 2014, it has been

17423-523: Was the first time religion had been overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law . A report by the V-Dem Institute described India as experiencing democratic backsliding due to the Modi era . Various other studies and media sources also cite India experiencing democratic backsliding. This is considered the most notable challenge to India's democracy since the authoritarian Emergency years of 1975–77. The party along

17556-532: Was threatened in 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections over seat sharing and both contested the election independently. With the BJP becoming the largest party following the 2014 election, Sena declared opposition. However, after negotiations, Sena agreed to join the government in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena-BJP combine governs the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation . Traditionally the main strongholds of Shiv Sena have been Mumbai and

17689-434: Was unsuccessful, as it won only two Lok Sabha seats in the elections of 1984 . The assassination of Indira Gandhi a few months earlier resulted in a wave of support for the Congress which won a record tally of 414 seats, contributing to the low number for the BJP. The failure of Vajpayee's moderate strategy led to a shift in the ideology of the party toward a policy of more hardline Hindu nationalism. In 1984, Advani

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