Dussehra rally to be held at Cross Maidan instead of Shivaji Park: CM Shinde

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday announced that his party, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), will organise the annual Dussehra rally at Cross Maidan instead of Shivaji Park. "This year the rally will take place at Cross Maidan and Azad Maidan since the MMRDA ground at BKC has been given for the bullet train project", Shinde said while speaking to reporters in Maharashtra's Mumbai.

Shiv Sena (Shinde group) and Shiv Sena (UBT), last year, locked horns over organising the annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park, where the party has been holding the rally since 1966, indicating the significance of this venue for both of them. However, the Bombay High Court had ruled in favour of the Shiv Sena and allowed the Uddhav Thackeray faction to hold the Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park.

This came after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) refused to give permission to the two factions to hold the rally, based on the local police report, which said that the event may cause law and order issue in the area.

The event is significant as Sena is now divided into two factions and the rally was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, Eknath Shinde led a group of Sena MLAs against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, resulting in MVA losing its majority in the state. This also led Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to step down as CM ahead of a floor test.

The new Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra won the floor test by a 164-99 margin, proving his government's majority and cementing his position as chief minister of the state. 164 votes were polled in favour of Shinde, while 99 votes were polled against the newly formed BJP-Shinde camp coalition.