Mumbai: For the first time since the Shiv Sena’s inception 56 years ago, two Dussehra rallies will be held in Mumbai on Wednesday evening by the party’s rival factions led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray in what is being billed as a show of strength by both camps after a change in government in June.

Anticipating big turnouts on the rallies of the Sena details, the Mumbai Police have tightened safety on the Shivaji Park and Bandra Kurla Complicated (BKC), an official stated on Tuesday . More than 5,000 buses, quite a lot of small vacationer automobiles and vehicles, and special trains have been opted to ferry supporters of the 2 rival Shiv Sena details for their respective Dussehra rallies, sources stated

The rallies have generated intense interest in political circles and also among common citizens and there will be more than just speeches by the two friends-turned-foes as the rival factions seek to present themselves as the ‘real’ Shiv Sena and try to claim the legacy of the party founder late Bal Thackeray.

While the Uddhav Thackeray faction will hold its rally at the historic Shivaji Park in Dadar in central Mumbai, a venue associated with the Shiv Sena since its inception in 1966, the rebel group led by Shinde has organised their event at the MMRDA ground at BKC in the suburbs.