Aaditya Thackeray will have to prove that he is more than the Chief Minister’s son

• The 29-year-old Aaditya Thackeray is one of Maharashtra’s youngest legislators.
  
• As soon as he won the assembly election, rumours were rife that he would be given a ministry.
  
• Aaditya won with a massive 26,000 vote margin from the Worli constituency in Mumbai.

One of Maharashtra’s youngest lawmakers, the 29-year-old Aaditya Thackeray swore-in as a minister in the state cabinet today. He was one the 36 legislators who swore into the cabinet as the Maharashtra cabinet expanded, along with NCP leader, Ajit Pawar. His father and Shiv Sena party leader Uddhav Thackeray is the chief minister of the state.

Hailing from a political family, and being the Chief Minister’s son, he is unlikely to escape the spotlight. Moreover, being part of an unlikely coalition between the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Indian National Congress ⁠— making his job twice as difficult.

The electoral victory is just the beginning

Rumours have been doing the rounds that he would be considered for the role of a minister as soon as he won the state election. Aaditya won his MLA seat from the Worli constituency with a massive 26,000 vote margin over his competitor, Suresh Mane of NCP. It is interesting to note that NCP and Congress have now aligned with Sena to form the government after the latter’s alliance with the BJP fell through.

Thackeray struck the right chord with thousands of people in Mumbai when he spoke against felling of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey colony to construct a metro car shed.


This was while his party was still an ally of the ruling BJP. “This is dictatorial behaviour but the Aarey car shed is just about 2,700 trees. It is about an ecosystem, leopard and a luna her nine cubs and other endangered species. Tomorrow if the area is flooded who will be blamed?” he questioned in an interview to India Today television in October.

Now, his actions as part of the ruling government in the state will be tested against this rhetoric.

The scion who started early

The young Thackeray who is also the grandson of Sena founder Bal Thackeray – started his career in politics as a student leader. This year, he made his debut in electoral politics after being the party’s youth wing leader nine years.

He was one of the most campaigners for the state’s elections, and also actively visited every booth to encourage his party candidates on the day of voting. Yet, he had faced many a backlash from social media – the most popular one for his attire where he wore the South Indian attire, lungi. He was trolled for it on social media since his grandfather had attacked South Indian migrants, decades ago.

Aaditya was also caught on the wrong foot when he kept mum on an incident of a toddler slipping down the drains of Mumbai – social media had hoped he would take a stance on it.

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