Bal Thackeray turns 82

January 23, 2008 20:08 IST

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray turned 82 on Wednesday.

Thackeray celebrated his birthday with family members and party workers at his residence in suburban Bandra in Mumbai.

Shiv Sena activists thronged Matoshree, the Thackeray residence in Kalanagar area of Bandra, to greet the Sena patriarch.

There were rangoli designs outside the house and firecrackers could be heard going off every now and then.

Thackeray made a brief appearance before party workers, waving to them. His son and Sena executive president, Uddhav Thackeray, accepted floral bouquets on his behalf.

The Sena chief spoke to waiting media persons and also released a book on the party by senior leader Manohar Joshi.

Those

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who visited Matoshree to greet Thackeray included Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Gopinath Munde, slain BJP leader Pramod Mahajan's daughter Poonam Mahajan Rao and Public Works Department minister Chhagan Bhujbal's son Pankaj and nephew Sameer.

Image: Thackeray waves to party activists, who had gathered outside his residence to greet him on his birthday.
Reportage: PTI | Photograph: Arun Patil

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