Mumbaikars pay tribute to Bal Thackeray

Mumbai, Nov 17 (ANI): On the third death anniversary of its party supremo Bal Thackeray on Tuesday, Shiv Sena may have something to cheer about, thanks to some green shoots of recovery which may portend an upswing in their future political fortunes. Thousands of followers, party workers and supporters from all over Maharashtra are expected to visiting the Shivaji Park area of Dadar. It was at the Shivaji Park grounds, where Thackeray had addressed numerous political rallies including the annual Dusshera Melawa and where the Shiv Sena- BJP government under Manohar Joshi was sworn in by then Governor P.C Alexander in 1995, that the Sena patriarch was cremated after his death on November 17, 2012. Incidentally, during his lifetime, Thackeray’s personality and political pull kept the spotlight around the Shiv Sena in the saffron alliance which was forged in 1989 after an electorally unsuccessful attempt in 1984. The 1927-born political cartoonist, who was the son of journalist, writer and social reformer 'Prabhodhankar' Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, started Marathi's first political cartoon magazine 'Marmik' in 1960. This laid the ground for the birth of the Shiv Sena with its jobs for the sons of soil pitch. The police have imposed restrictions on movement of some vehicles from 6 am till midnight. Police said vehicles in large numbers are expected to ply on Western Express Highway and Eastern Express Highway.