Milind Narvekar, the 57-year-old Man Friday of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray received a huge boost on Tuesday when he filed his nomination for the state legislative council election in the presence of Thackeray Sr, Aaditya Thackeray, ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan and other senior leaders. This is the second time a PA has been invested with a political role. Dilip Valse-Patil was an assistant to Sharad Pawar for several years. He was later rewarded with a seat in the assembly and a ministerial post. Indications are that Narvekar too may get a ministerial berth if the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) recaptures power during the upcoming assembly polls
Narvekar started off as a small-time "karyakarta" of the Shiv Sena in the '80s from Kandivali. During the course of his political work, he used to visit "Matoshree", the Thackeray household in Bandra (East). The late Bal Thackeray, who had by then decided to groom Uddhav as his successor, was on the look out for a good personal assistant who could help his son. He saw a spark in Milind and recruited him. After that Milind has not looked back.
A low-profile person, he quickly learnt that ropes of Sena politics. He precisely understood the style of working of Thackeray Sr and Uddhav and quickly adapted himself to the atmosphere in "Matoshree," which was an important power centre of Mumbai visited by the Who's Who of politics, industry, trade union, culture and sports. Milind cultivated them all and endeared himself to all. He gained the deep trust of the Thackerays and became the go-to man.
Milind soon became a power centre within ``Matoshree" who was approached by party office-bearers and cadres for favours. During election time, he was a man much in demand with party workers mobbing him to get party tickets to contest the civic, assembly and even parliamentary polls. Whenever the party faced a crisis like when Narayan Rane quit or Raj Thackeray raised the banner of revolt Milind stood like a solid rock behind the leadership. The worse crisis was when Bal Thackeray breathed his last on November 17, 2012. Uddhav, who was totally dependent on his father, was completely at a loss.
It was Milind who mobilised the rank and file of the party around the Uddhav and ensured a smooth transition in leadership. Milind's crisis management skills were in full display. In the past certain Sena leaders had accused Milind of denying them access to Uddhav. However, few took this allegation seriously.
When Eknath Shinde raised the banner of revolt, it was Milind who tried to dissuade him from leaving the party. But then the forces backing Shinde were too resourceful and Milind had to beat a hasty retreat from Surat when the rebels were stationed.
Milind is often regarded as an ``ajatashatru" (a man with no enemies). This could be seen during Ganesh chaturthi. Arch rivals of Uddhav like Devendra Fadnavis could be seen visiting his plush apartment in tony Bandra (west) to have ``darshan" of Lord Ganapati. Indeed, the slim and trim Milind Narvekar appears to be abundantly blessed by the Lord.
