Uddhav Thackeray

Infobox_Indian_politician
name = Uddhav Thackeray
birth_date = birth date and age|1960|07|27
birth_place =
residence = Mumbai, India
death_date =
death_place =
constituency =
office = President of the Shiv Sena
salary =
term =
predecessor =
successor =
party = Shiv Sena
religion = Hindu
spouse = Rashmi Thackeray
children =
website =
email =
footnotes =
date = May 4
year = 2008 |
source =

Uddhav Thackeray ( _mr. उद्धव ठाकरे) (born July 27, 1960) is the executive president of the Shiv Sena, a regional political party based in the Indian state of Maharashtra. He was given this role in 2004, taking over the mantle from his father and party founder Bal Thackeray.

Initially, Thackeray was not too keen to join politics, and instead was into art and nature. In spite of this, the party won the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation election in 2002 under his stewardship, and he was appointed the party working president in 2003. However, differences between Thackeray and former Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane culminated in the expulsion of Rane from the Shiv Sena. The biggest split in the Sena came when Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray had a falling out, leading to Raj leaving the Shiv Sena in 2006 to form his own party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

Since 2007, Thackeray has been campaigning for debt relief to farmers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra where a large number of farmer suicides have taken place.

Uddhav Thackeray is a wildlife enthusiast and photographer. He holds regular exhibitions of his photographs from forests, nature parks and sites of historic interest around the world.

Thackeray's son Aditya is a budding poet with his first book of poems 'White and Black' published in May 2007.

External links

* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2004/stories/20030228002304900.htm The son rises - Frontline, Volume 20 - Issue 04, February 15 - 28, 2003]
* [http://in.rediff.com/election/2004/apr/22espec2.htm Up close and personal with Uddhav Thackeray - Rediff India, April 2004]