Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena suffered a blow on Monday, the loss of life anniversary of its founder Bal Thackeray, as leaders of Mumbai’s dabbawala group expressed dissatisfaction with the occasion and expressed help for the rival Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP).
Forward of the native physique polls in Maharashtra, Subhash Talekar, president of the 135-year-old Mumbai Dabbawala Affiliation, launched a video assertion through which he stated the explanation for the shift to the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering was the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s failure to meet its guarantees and fulfill its calls for.
The 135-year-old Mumbai Dabbawala Affiliation is a non-governmental group that gives steerage to dabbawalas (lunch field bearers) and supported the Shiv Sena (UBT) within the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Meeting elections.
Mumbai’s dabbawalas, group employees who ship sizzling lunches to Mumbai’s college students and office-goers, have traditionally been aligned with the Shiv Sena’s core ideology of “sons of the soil” and the rights of “Marathi manu” (Marathi individuals).
Talekar alleged that through the 2017 Mumbai Municipal Company elections, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena occasion made a number of guarantees to the dabbawalas of Mumbai, which weren’t fulfilled after the occasion’s victory. The occasion’s manifesto launched in 2017 stated it might assist arrange an impartial firm to prepare Mumbai’s dabbawalas and supply it with monetary help of 5 billion rupees.
Talekar instructed ThePrint, “The group was promised free bicycle parking at railway stations throughout the town. It was additionally promised free training and healthcare to the dabbawala households by way of the company and social sectors. After they gained the elections, no such help was accessible to them.”
The affiliation has now introduced its help to the BJP and praised Fadnavis for resolving the dabbawala housing concern.
Shiv Sena (UBT) nationwide spokesperson Anand Dubey instructed ThePrint, “Because of the Marathi employees, there may be an previous relationship between the occasion and the dabbawalas. If they aren’t proud of us, we’ll stand by them. , we’ll attempt to resolve the problem. We do not need them to be offended as a result of the dabbawalas are traditionally tied to the town and its individuals. We hope we are able to persuade them and supply no matter we’ve got to supply.” You are able to do it. ”
“Mumbai presently has round 2,500 dabbawalas offering supply companies within the metropolis. They’re from villages in north Pune districts and will affect the zilla parishad (district meeting) votes. It could not make a lot of a distinction within the polls right here, besides in sure areas of the town the place dabbawalas reside, akin to Andheri, 7 Bungalows and Dahisar,” Talekar instructed ThePrint.
Assist for the BJP
Even earlier than the 2019 meeting elections, the affiliation aligned itself with Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, saying the occasion has at all times supported the welfare of dabbawalas.
“Shiv Sena is the one one who has at all times stood by us for our welfare. It has additionally promised to construct a ‘dabbawala bhawan’ for us. Solely the Sena has included the dabbawalas of Mumbai in its ‘Imaginative and prescient Mumbai’ marketing campaign and has taken a number of initiatives for our betterment,” Talekar instructed PTI in April 2019.
In March 2022, the Shiv Sena opened Dubbewala Bhawan, a welfare middle for caterers in Bandra, fulfilling considered one of its guarantees made earlier than the 2017 civic physique elections. However the 3,000 sq. toes middle, situated on the bottom flooring of an present constructing in Bandra’s Shirley space, disillusioned the dabbawalas, who had been anticipating a free-standing construction.
For the previous few years, there was a whole lot of resentment in opposition to the Shiv Sena among the many dabbawalas. “Shiv Sena was in energy within the Mumbai Municipal Company for 5 years. For 2-and-a-half years, Uddhav Thackeray himself served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. However no communication was exchanged relating to any guarantees,” Talekar instructed ThePrint.
He additionally claimed that CM Devendra Fadnavis has determined to allot 500 sq. toes of land price Rs 2.5 million to every dabbawala household in Thanes Dive Anjur as per the plans of the Maharashtra Housing and Space Growth Authority (MHADA). “He had additionally offered Rs 500 crore to renovate the (present) Dabbawala Bhawan.”
Talekar instructed the CM, “The common earnings of a dabbawala is Rs 5,000 a month. No financial institution shall be able to lend them Rs 25 million. I request the CM to provide a subsidy of Rs 10 million to Rs 12 million on the land quantity, as we’ve got finished for ‘girni kamgars’ (mill employees).”
On August 15, 2025, Fadnavis inaugurated the Mumbai Dabbawala Worldwide Expertise Middle in Bandra West, Mumbai, a museum devoted to the town’s iconic lunch supply service, providing guests an immersive expertise into the historical past and accuracy of the dabbawala system, which has operated since 1890.
“MLA Shrikant Bharatiya has renewed the Bhavan together with his laborious work and dedication for the trigger. The Chief Minister has performed an lively function in resolving the issues of dabbawala employees. As a consequence of this, the employees are assured that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will clear up their issues,” Talekar, president of the affiliation, instructed ThePrint.
He additional added, “Contemplating all this, the Mumbai Dabbawala Affiliation has determined to help Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis within the upcoming elections.”
(Edited by Vinny Mishra)
Additionally learn: With AI, VR and speaking partitions, Bandra Museum immortalizes the legacy of Mumbai’s dabbawalas
