Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray to address rallies today on eve of Shiv Sena Foundation Day

The Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray factions are gearing up to celebrate on June 19 the foundation day of the Shiv Sena by organising events at two separate venues in Mumbai, both of which are likely to be marked by verbal duels to prove which is real inheritor of the mantle of founder late Bal Thackeray. Shinde is set to address a rally at Goregaon, while Thackeray will hold his rally at Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion.

Yesterday the two sides stake claim at the party with  banners. The hoardings put up by Shinde faction had pictures of late Bal Thackeray along with his political mentor late Anand Dighe, with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, alongside a map of Maharashtra, in the backdrop. The hoardings also had photos of the CM. Meanwhile, the posters of Shiv Sena (UBT) had pictures of late Bal Thackeray, his son Uddhav and and grandson Aaditya. The message underneath asserted: “Nishtavanancha kutumbhshohala; Shiv Sena parivar jaga vegla” (“This is the get-together of die-hard loyalists. Shiv Sena parivar is different from the world”).