India, Oct. 10 -- With the BMC and other local body elections around the corner, the Shiv Sena led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has launched the Sthaniya Lokadhikar Sena (SLS) to mobilise support among the Marathi people and expand the party's base.

By launching the SLS at the Birla Matoshree Sabhagriha in Mumbai on Thursday, Shinde is cranking up the party's organisational machinery ahead of these crucial elections. Significantly, the SLS mirrors the Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti Mahasangh (SLSM) of the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Sena faction left after Shinde broke away from the parent party in 2022.

The Sena (UBT) has successfully deployed the SLSM, the party's organisational backbone, in every election it has contested. On Thursday...