Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray returned as Chief Editor of the party’s newspapers – ‘Saamana’ (in the Marathi language) and ‘Dopahar Ka Saamana’ (in the Hindi language).
When Uddhav Thackeray became Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, his wife Rashmi Thackeray was named the Editor.
The decision comes five days after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in an alleged money-laundering case.
According to the latest printline of Friday’s edition, Raut continues as Executive Editor of ‘Saamana’.
The broadsheet ‘Saamana’ was founded in January 1988 and its Founder-Editor was the late Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray. ‘Dopahar Ka Saamana’, the tabloid, was launched in February 1993, through the Prabodhan Prakashan Pvt Ltd.
As Shiv Sena complained about ‘biased’ and ‘inadequate’ coverage in the local, regional, and national media and sought to convey its viewpoint on various issues, the two newspapers were launched. Balasaheb Thackeray helmed both publications until he passed away in 2012.
Since its inception, ‘Saamana Group’ has been known for its fiery writings, frequently taking controversial stands on various issues and remaining in the limelight for its headlines and hard-hitting edits. Both the newspapers are regularly scanned by top political leaders of most parties.
After becoming the Maharashtra Chief Minister in November 2019, Thackeray stepped down as the Group Editor in favour of his wife. He resigned as the Maharashtra CM in June 2022.
Rashmi had slammed Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil as “Dadamiyana” in her maiden editorial after taking over as editor in March 2020.
“When ‘Dadamiyan’ and many others like him were wetting their beds, the Shiv Sena had taken up the fight for Hindutva and patriotism, and it needs no lessons from them (BJP),” the edit in ‘Saamana’ and ‘Dopahar Ka Saamana’ read.
