Turf war

After giving the Shiv Sena a bloody nose in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections last month, the BJP is making steady inroads into another Sena bastion-Mumbai's trade unions. Launched in January, the BJP-affiliated Rashtriya Janhit Kamgar Sanghatna (RJKS) has already grown to 50,000 members, mostly in establishments where the Shiv Sena's Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (BKS) had hitherto held sway.

Nearly 70 per cent of Mumbai's establishments-government undertakings and private businesses-are controlled by the BKS, but a toppling game is underway. For starters, RJKS spread wings in Mumbai's Bombay Hospital and the Trident and Palladium hotels, apart from a dozen or so smaller businesses. It is now looking to expand to the local manufacturing industry, service sector and aviation, all places where it sees the BKS's hold slackening.

RJKS general secretary Siddharth Palaspagar claims the organisation's success comes from being able to bring more benefits to workers. "We forced the management of Silver Courier to hike salaries by Rs 3,000 [a month] where BKS had managed just Rs 200 last year," he says.

Palaspagar believes that with the BKS losing influence in the trade unions, it's an opportune moment to occupy the space. The BJP's Maharashtra spokesperson, Madhav Bhandari, believes the party being in power in both Maharashtra and Delhi is serving as a catalyst for the RJKS.

For years, the leadership of Mumbai's trade and labour unions helped the Shiv Sena build a strong base among workers' families. The BKS produced several firebrand leaders for the Shiv Sena, including Dattaji Salvi, Chhagan Bhujbal and Narayan Rane.

BKS chairman Suryakant Mahadik, though, scoffs at suggestions of a challenge to his outfit. "The BKS is a trusted organisation among all trade workers," he says. "It works not only for wage increase but the self-respect of workers."