Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday announced that his party will organise the annual Dussehra rally at Cross Maidan instead of Shivaji Park. Shinde withdrew his petition filed at BMC to hold a Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park, saying he does not want any row on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra.Shinde appealed to his party workers not to clash with the rival faction led by Uddhav Thackeray as former chief minister gets people's sympathy, they added.In 2022, both the factions competed with each other to hold the rally at Shivaji Part.
Thackeray got permission to organise the mega event at the historic part, while Shinde's rally was organised at BKC. Last year on the occasion of the Dussehra, Shiv Sena (Thackeray) mouthpiece 'Saamana' claimed that the Shinde camp must have spent Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore on the Dussehra rally held at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), as nearly 2,000 buses were booked to ferry supporters and over two lakh people who attended the event were given food." The rally at the BKC was one of the BJP-backed events. The amount spent must have been the same used for buying a couple of MLAs. The event was like a fashion show and a beauty pageant," it said. The two factions of the Shiv Sena held mega rallies on Dussehra evening in 2022. While Thackeray addressed his rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar area, Shinde addressed a gathering at the BKC.