Shiv Sena, NCP woo north Indian voters

U TURN: Uddhav Thackeray expresses concern for the needs of the migrant population at a rally.

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Mumbai: Just a few days ago the Shiv Sena in Mumbai demanded a permit system for outsiders. But now, with the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) taking on the Sena on the controversial issue, the party seems to have developed cold feet and has now done an about turn.

"The Marathi Manoos has and always will support the Shiv Sena," Uddhav Thackeray, Executive President of Shiv Sena, had said while justifying the demand for the permit system.

The statement was made on Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray's 82nd birthday demanding homes specifically for Maharashtrians .

But within 48 hours Uddhav realised the political cost of his remark and how it might mean a loss of the vital north Indian votebank. So he soon expressed concern for the needs of the migrant population.

"Do you have water in your homes? Can you travel comfortably in the local trains? You can't. That's the problem," he asked the migrant population.

While the Sena seems to be correcting its stand, the NCP is politically more direct, reaching out to the migrants and trying to strike the right chord at the gathering of north Indian in genuine Uttar Pradesh style.

"If anyone dares to hurt the dignity of others, I won't hesitate in using my lathi (stick)," RR Patil, Home Minister of Maharashtra, said after being presented with a lathi at a rally.

And the Sena and the NCP are not the only parties courting the north Indian population. Parties like Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP) has already started targeting the 40-lakh strong electorate in Mumbai.

in fact at her recent Mumbai rally, Mayawati played both Shivaji and Dalit cards in the same speech.

With the Assembly elections in Maharashtra due next year, the north Indian voter is suddenly the centre of political attention. And if the Sena is painting the city saffron, the NCP has decided to go red with the traditional gamcha (towel) and lathi from Uttar Pradesh.