Who was Anand Dighe, the political guru of Eknath Shinde?

Eknath Shinde has been sworn in as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. During this, he thanked the BJP leaders and also mentioned Anand Dighe. Speaking of Eknath Shinde, it is necessary to mention Dighe. In fact, it was Dighe who played a major role in establishing and advancing Eknath Shinde as a leader in Thane.

There is a large section of people who still believe and respect Anand Dighe in Thane, even though 21 years have passed since his death. In 2001, his car was in an accident during Ganesh Utsav. The injured Anand Dighe underwent surgery at a Thane hospital but later died of a heart attack.

After Dighe's death, his followers burned down the Singhania Hospital. Anand Dighe was also accused of killing Shiv Sena councillor Shridhar Khopkar and was arrested under the TADA Act.

Who is Anand Dighe?

Anand Dighe was a follower of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and a mentor to rebel leader Eknath Shinde. He began his political career in the Shiv Sena and became chairman of the party's Thane unit in 1984. Known to be a grassroots politician, the leader of the Sena, famous for sporting a long beard and saffron-coloured tilak, many rings on his fingers—remained available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and stood out for his simplicity, loyalty and honesty.

Like Bal Thackeray, Dighe never stood for election. He became very popular in the Thane area and also became known as "the Balasaheb Thackeray of Thane". To the locals of Thane, he was a problem solver and people often came to his darbar in Tembhi Naka of Thane to seek help from him with their children's school-university admission, hospitalization, and property disputes, among other things.

Even 21 years after his death, Thane's Shiv Sainiks respectfully take the name Anand Dighe. Eknath Shinde had also said during the swearing-in of Uddhav Thackeray's cabinet on November 28, 2019, that "Dharmaveer is taking the oath in memory of Anand Dighe".

He then said, "With salutations to Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray, memory of Dharamveer Anand Dighe, good deeds of fathers, loyalty to Maharashtra chief minister, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray with blessings…".

While the rest of the situation may have changed while he was being sworn in as Chief Minister, his sense of respect for Anand Dighe remained.

Earlier, during the Lok Sabha elections, BJP leader Narayan Rane's son Nilesh Rane had alleged that Balasaheb Thackeray was responsible for the assassination of Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe.

After this, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut denied all the accusations made by Rane. But because of this whole thing, a fight started between Anand Dighe, Shiv Sena and Rane.

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