The short answer is no! Chief Minister Thackeray is managing to do an admirable job of not only keeping his flock together but also managing one of the worst health crises that the state has faced. This, by someone who did not even want to be the Chief Minister.
By SAMEER KOCHHAR
The short answer is no! Chief Minister Thackeray is managing to do an admirable job of not only keeping his flock together but also managing one of the worst health crises that the state has faced. This, by someone who did not even want to be the Chief Minister.
Ahead of the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections, a group of people from Varkari Samaj, devotees of Lord Vittal, visited Matoshree to bless Uddhav Thackeray and extend their support to his party, Shiv Sena. Addressing a gathering after the meeting, Thackeray said, “Everyone wants to be the CM and people fight for the chair. But see how fortunate I am. I do not want the crown on my head, yet people want to see me as the CM. This love has to be earned.
Handling of Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc barely three months after Thackeray took charge as Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 28 November 2019. Maharashtra – and particularly Mumbai – witnessed an exponential rise in infections and death early on in the pandemic.
Dharavi, which many had feared would become the deathbed, emerged as a model for containing the pandemic. Praising the efforts taken to contain the Covid-19 in Dharavi, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “There are many examples from around the world that have shown that even if the outbreak is very intense, it can still be brought back under control. And some of these examples are Italy, Spain and South Korea, and even in Dharavi – a densely packed area in the megacity of Mumbai – a strong focus on community engagement and the basics of testing, tracing, isolating and treating.”
