Honours even as Shiv Sena ambushes MNS’s grand plan to make iconic Shivaji Park a free Wi-Fi zone.In an ultimate move of one-upmanship, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday launched its free WiFi service along a stretch of Shivaji Park 30 minutes before MNS inaugurated its own service in the area.Till then, it had seemed like the MNS would walk away with the accolades after Raj Thackeray lent his own house for the installation of aerial routers to WiFi-enable the iconic ground, an idea originally floated by the Sena.Adding insult to injury, the Sena, whose routers are along the length of Cadell Road that runs parallel to the park, said its service will be available free 24x7 while that of the MNS – which is around the park – will be free for just three hours a day.Earlier in the day, there was nothing to indicate that the Sena might upstage its younger rival as the MNS went about its grand plan to get the project inaugurated by Raj. But in a perfectly planned ambush, Samadhan Sarvankar, a local Yuva Sena activist and son of former Sena strongman Sada Sarvankar, managed to get a few routers installed in his and a few other houses in the neighbourhood. Another of Sarvankar’s smart moves was an on-the-fly tie-up with MTNL, which had all the requisite infrastructure and permissions in place.With just 30 minutes to go before Raj arrived at the Shivaji Park gymkhana, Sena volunteers scrambled to put up posters announcing the launch of their service in strategic points around the ground.“Free WiFi for Shivaji Park was Aditya Thackeray’s brainchild, but the MNS stole our plan and installed an illegal WiFi. But we managed to inaugurate our service before the MNS. Further, our service is free 24x7, unlike the MNS’s, which is free for just for three hours,” said Sarvankar.In fact, making all of Mumbai WiFi-enabled was a promise Shiv Sena made during the civic elections in 2012, but the project never took off due to technicalities.The WiFi skirmish also put the focus on Shivaji Park, where the two parties were born 40 years apart. MNS sources said Raj, who recently said he will contest the upcoming assembly elections, may choose between Dadar and Vile Parle constituencies.One of the few remaining Maharashtrian pockets in the city, Shivaji Park is also home to several influential Marathi authors, theatre, film and sports personalities and political leaders.More than 50,000 people live around the 27-acre ground, which is a popular hangout for both the old and the young. The area has historically voted Shiv Sena, before the MNS wrested it in 2009. Currently, all six sitting corporators and the legislator are from the MNS, and the Shiv Sena is desperate the win the area back.Last year, the MNS succeeded in installing a rain-water harvesting system at the park, upstaging the Sena. Besides Shivaji Park, the Maharashtrian pockets of Central Mumbai have also witnessed periodic battles between the two parties as they wrestle to consolidate the Marathi vote. Raj recently held a public meeting at Nare Park, another historic venue in Parel, to inaugurate a sports facility amidst opposition from the Shiv Sena.Earlier on Tuesday, Raj inaugurated the WiFi service despite a BMC notice to the party terming an earlier plan ‘illegal’. His wife Sharmila and son Amit were also present.The groundwork was done by MNS’s Shivaji Park corporator Sandeep Deshpande, who began laying cables last week.While Mayor Sunil Prabhu had asked the BMC to register an FIR against Desphande, the BMC just filed a complaint against Deshpande. To get around the problem, the MNS then resorted to installing aerial routers instead of underground cables. The MNS put up high-powered routers on roof-tops across Shivaji Park, including on the terrace of Krishna Kunj, Raj’s residence.According to the MNS, citizens can use the service for three hours a day or use 50 MB per day with a speed 512 kbps. The duration will be later increased, said a MNS leader. “We are launching the Wi-Fi service along with a mobile application, which will help us to get the data about mobile numbers that will be used during the assembly election for the campaigning,” added the leader.On Tuesday, there was no saying if the gimmick had helped either party win public support. Though they welcomed the move, residents insisted populist schemes will not sway them.“It is more political than being a facility for citizens,” said Ashok Rawat of the Shivaji Park ALM. “Citizens should be taken on board by political parties in such projects instead of thrusting something on us.”