Dussehra rallies updates: RSS chief says ‘sinister’ plans afoot against India

Delhi, Noida, Mumbai and other major cities have deployed heavy security and issued advisories to help avoid traffic delays during Dussehra celebrations on Saturday.

There will also be a political showdown in Mumbai as the two Shiv Senas have announced rallies to sound the poll bugle ahead of Maharashtra assembly elections.

As nine days of festivities across India come to a head, the police have issued traffic advisories for key areas in Mumbai, Delhi, Noida and other cities where Durga immersions, Ravana Dahan, street plays and more could obstruct the roads.

Dussehra has also set the playing field for a political battle between Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The two rival factions are vying for voters support and claiming the legacy of the late Bal Thackeray, ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections.

While the Shiv Sena (UBT) will hold its rally at the historic Shivaji Park in Dadar, chief minister Eknath Shinde will address his party at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.

The Dussehra rally is a long-standing Shiv Sena tradition upheld by its founder Bal Thackeray at Shivaji Park since the 1960s and later carried on by Uddhav Thackeray.

Post the party split, the Dussehra rally was held by the Eknath Shinde-led Sena at the MMRDA ground in Bandra Kurla Complex and later Azad Maidan.

Fleets of 3,000 buses each are expected to ferry in workers from across the state for both party factions, leading to large scale crowds. The Mumbai police has pledged more than 12,000 personnel for the Dussehra rallies and the immersion of Durga idols, an official told news agency PTI.